According to a March 28 report, the Bank of Russia’s CBDC pilot program will not begin on its previously announced date of April 1, 2023. The legislation that backs the program has only passed the first reading in the lower house of the Federal Assembly. The report noted that the legislation is expected to be enacted by early May.
Last month, DeFi Planet reported that the Bank of Russia’s first deputy governor, Olga Skorobogatova, revealed at an Economic Conference that several local banks and merchants would conduct the inaugural digital ruble transactions on April 1, 2023. According to Skorobogatova, the program serves as the initial consumer pilot for the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Skorobogatova clarified that during the trial’s first phase, only chosen customers from the participating banks that have passed technical and operational evaluations will be involved, while general customers will not be permitted to participate.
Although the Bank of Russia has postponed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial rollout, the participating institutions have stated their readiness to initiate testing.
The Innovation Director of Sinara Bank, Vitaly Kopysov, emphasized that the digital ruble’s primary objective is to generate fresh opportunities for both the state and businesses. With the digital ruble’s introduction, banks will have access to a new infrastructure for transfers and cross-border transactions.
Kopysov believes that this will lead to the development of new services, increased competition, and reduced operational burdens for banks through the use of smart contracts. The transparent nature of client transactions will minimize the possibility of misuse of earmarked funds from the state and business and simplify control over contracts.
Olga Makhova, the Director of Innovation and Data Management at Rosbank, remarked that they know they are building a future-oriented platform even though there are no challenges with their current systems. Mahova believes the program will proactively address any concerns related to system integration with both the Central Bank and the digital ruble platform.
Meanwhile, the number of private banks participating in the pilot has been cut from 15 to 13. Some employees of these banks will be taking part in the test for CBDC retail payments. The largest insurance company in the country, Ingosstrakh, will also participate in the pilot program.
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