The date for the mass deployment of the digital ruble will be determined and announced at a later time, TASS reports quoting the Bank of Russia press office.
The main problem that hinders the official digital currency’s deployment is its being new, which suggests that each of the levels for using it needs to be developed from scratch. That means there is nothing in place, says Igor Rastorguyev, a leading analyst at AMarkets.
The Bank of Russia will be the sole issuer of the digital currency, the expert points out. At the same time, banks have been left to deal with deployment problems on their own, with each of them having to handle it separately, as there are no universal IT solutions in place that could be adapted. A wide introduction of the digital ruble without even a guarantee of mass demand for this type of national currency entails high costs, which can reach as high as RUR 200 mln ($2.4 mln) for one bank at the preparation stage alone, the analyst warns.
It is assumed that digital rubles will be legal tender that can be used to pay for any goods or services. The first in line for providing this option are federal retail chains, which will have to develop their own systems for accepting and processing digital payments. That’s a lot of work to be done by developers of cash register equipment and software to ensure compliance, Igor Rastorguyev continues.
“In addition to changes in their local IT systems, retailers will have to re-flash all their cash register equipment, which includes millions of devices across the country. I cannot even begin to imagine what it will take to do this in limited time,” the specialist says. “All the previously announced rollout dates sounded utopian – for example, last year, the Central Bank said the digital ruble introduction was possible starting July 1, 2025. Federal retailers are likely to incur even higher adaptation costs than banks. After that, smaller chains and all other stores will have no choice but to embrace the new system. Certain centralized solutions will probably be offered, but implementing them will also damage their profits.”