A new bill regulating the rules of digital currency circulation may be submitted to Russia's State Duma before New Year, paving the way for the launch of the digital ruble, Russian media has reported.
The Bank of Russia has been testing new technology for a year and it plans to start running tests of the digital ruble with real customers in April 2023.
"Now we are working on banking systems and the optimal client path during the transactions with digital rubles," representatives of the Central Bank told the press.
Experts point out that the introduction of the digital ruble will help tackle money laundering and other illegal financial operations. All the data about the transactions will be stored in the Bank of Russia and there will be no need to request information from any other bank.
The idea of the digital ruble has met no major resistance among Russian citizens: according to a poll carried out by Russian recruiting company HH, 35% of those surveyed are ready to receive a salary in digital rubles on their bank cards. Of these, 29% agree to receive payments from the employer in digital rubles on the card in full, and 6% partially.