Russian Federation Council passes law on introduction of digital ruble

MOSCOW. July 19 (Interfax) - The Federation Council or upper house of Russia's parliament has approved the law on the introduction of the Central Bank's digital ruble in Russia and the creation of a digital ruble platform.

The document was included in a package of bills on the introduction of a third form of money in Russia and was submitted to parliament at the end of December 2022 by a group of deputies and senators.

The law clarifies the ban on crediting digital ruble accounts, as well as on the accrual of interest on the balance of digital rubles. It is also prohibited to open joint digital ruble accounts, for several users.

The document also establishes the Central Bank's right to refuse a platform participant or bank the right to conduct a transaction on a client's order if the regulator reveals signs that the transaction is being conducted without the client's consent. In this case, the Central Bank will inform the bank or the client of the possibility of sending a second order using the same details and for the same amount. Upon receipt of a repeated order, the Central Bank will be obliged to execute it.

In addition, according to the law, the Central Bank will be able to conclude agreements with the operator of the information system of the national currency, issued in digital form, not only of a foreign state, but also of a group of foreign states.

The main provisions of the law will come into force on August 1, 2023.

At the same time, the law extends for a year, until December 31, 2024, the right of the Central Bank to determine the circle of users of the digital ruble platform, as well as the list of transactions on the platform and their threshold amounts. The document also clarifies that the decision must be agreed with Rosfinmonitoring.

The Federation Council also approved amendments to the Russian Civil Code, which introduce terms concerning the digital ruble into the legal space.

The amendments to the Civil Code define the digital ruble as an object of civil rights - previously, digital rights were included in the civil rights category. The amendments say that settlements in digital rubles will be carried out by means of Russian Central Bank transfers on a special platform consistent with Russian laws on the national payment system.

The law will take effect on August 1, 2023.

The Central Bank has said it plans to begin testing the first real transactions with the digital ruble in August.