The State Duma approved the transfer of the timing of the digital ruble

The deputies of the Russian State Duma adopted immediately in the second and final third reading a bill on the transfer of the timing of the launch of a digital ruble. The document, which should now be considered by the Federation Council and sign the president, also legalizes a special QR code to pay for goods and services with a digital currency of the Central Bank.

The bill transfers the beginning of the use of the digital ruble and the associated payment technologies for September 1 of next year. Earlier, the Bank of Russia was going to introduce a digital ruble into circulation in the summer of 2025.

According to the bill, from September 2026, large banks will be required to provide customers with the opportunity to open digital wallets and conduct operations with a digital ruble, including payment for goods and services. The obligation to conduct calculations with digital rubles should also be extended to some customers of these banks: sellers of goods, work executors and suppliers of services with annual revenue of more than 120 million rubles.

By September 2027, banks with a universal license (that is, almost all commercial banks) and companies with a revenue of more than 30 million rubles, and by 2028, the remaining banks and sellers with revenue over 5 million rubles, should connect to the system of 2027.

The payment QR code will become mandatory with the same dates prescribed in the bill. The operator of the code for the provision of code will be the “National Payment Card System” (NSPK), controlled by the Bank of Russia.

The bill establishes that a digital ruble is not a cryptocurrency, but a third form of the national currency, produced and controlled by the Central Bank.

Two weeks ago, the chairman of the board of Sberbank German Gref said that he did not see the advantages and prospects of the digital ruble – neither for people, nor for banks, nor for business.

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