The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia will expand testing of the digital ruble

In 2024, the Ministry of Finance will trial the digital ruble in certain budget expenditures.

To begin with, it is essential to verify the intended purpose of the funds.

Digitalization of social payments or procurement subsidies may become a reality.

On Friday, the head of the Central Bank and the Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, Anton Siluanov, agreed to conduct a "pilot" on the use of the digital ruble in certain types of budget expenditures. Siluanov announced this on Monday while speaking at the Federation Council.

Siluanov emphasized the importance of the digital ruble in industries where targeted use of budget funds is necessary, such as social payments for citizens and subsidies for the purchase or provision of certain services.

On August 1, 2021, the legal norms for the introduction of a digital ruble in Russia took effect, and the Bank of Russia began working on the development of the third form of money.

In mid-August, 13 banks in Russia began testing the digital ruble. During this pilot stage, they are examining the process of opening and closing digital wallets of banks and customers, transferring digital rubles between citizens, and making payments for goods and services using a QR code.

The pilot program for testing the digital ruble on real transactions for individuals and legal entities will be significantly expanded starting next year, with the testing period lasting until 2025.

Viktor Dostov, the chairman of the Association of Electronic Money Market Participants and money transfers, has noted that the digital ruble has the capability of being colored. Individuals will be given money of a certain color, and it can only be spent in certain stores: pink money can only be used in theaters and museums, while green money can only be used in children's stores.

The Central Bank has estimated that citizens will be able to open digital wallets for the digital ruble between 2025 and 2027, although the regulator did not specify an exact timeline. Despite the lack of clear benefits for the average user, experts have suggested that the digital ruble could be beneficial.