The mass-scale rollout of the digital ruble will occur later than initially planned. This was announced by Governor of the Russian Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, RBC reports.
It is noted that the Central Bank has taken into account requests to defer the broad implementation of the digital ruble.
What needs to be done to ensure the digital ruble permeates the Russian economy and becomes a reliable and stable payment method? Firstly, it is essential to address the issue with foreign banks that could accept digital rubles as payment for goods and services. This option is highly anticipated by businesses under the current sanctions pressure, emphasizes Oleg Kalmanovich, Chief Analyst at Neomarkets.
Secondly, it is necessary to establish a dialogue with the retail sector, the expert adds. As is well-known, many small entrepreneurs are reluctant to emerge from the shadow economy, and even now, even in regional centers, there are issues with the use of online cash registers, stemming from both unwillingness and the objective inability to utilize POS terminals — for instance, due to poor internet connectivity and the need to await a response from the Center for Research in Perspective Technologies (CRPT) to sell a bottle of milk.
“Even for large federal retailers, the introduction of the digital ruble means substantial costs for reprogramming cash registers and training personnel while returns are uncertain. So one cannot expect a massive surge of interest [in the digital ruble] given there are plenty of other payment methods,” concludes Oleg Kalmanovich.