More Russian banks join the digital ruble pilot

Several Russian banks will join the digital ruble pilot, with Centra-Invest Bank, which operates mainly in the south of the country, set to test CBDC next year.

In the Rostov newspaper, Center-Invest Bank has signed “Digital Ruble [partnership] deal with [CBDC’s] Operator, Central Bank.

The move will see the Rostov-on-Don-based bank join a “second group of banks” that will allow customers to use the coin in real-world situations.

This group, the media wrote, is now “developing systems and protocols” to “check operations with the digital ruble.”

The “first group” of Russian banks, including heavyweights such as VTB, began piloting the coin in August with 600 customers and employees in 11 cities nationwide.

Since then, the Moscow Metro has started accepting digital ruble payments.

The “first batch” of 13 banks also includes the likes of Rosbank.

But – crucially – Central Bank ran into serious trouble when it pulled out Sberbank before the CBCC pilot began.

Sberbank is arguably Russia's largest bank, and its parent company is one of the country's most powerful and profitable companies.

There are currently no signs that Sberbank will apply to join the second group of banks, as the financial institution remains tight-lipped about its CBDC intentions.

Russia's Digital Ruble: New Banks Flow to Join the Pilot

Central-bank activity is significant because of the nature of the bank.

Although the central bank is not strictly a regional bank, its headquarters are located outside the capital of Russia.

The financial institution mainly serves clients and companies in South Russia.

This could be an indication that Russia wants to follow the Chinese CBCC playbook.

In China, large state-run banks were the first to join the digital yuan pilot, followed later by regional banks.

The identity of the rest of the second batch of banks is yet to be officially confirmed.

But the central bank has already confirmed that this second group will join the pilot in 2024 and will include 16 banks.

A senior central bank executive said:

“One [Russian] Digital currency is a qualitative change in the field of international payments. By participating in the Digital Ruble pilot, we have the opportunity to be one of the first banks to experience the benefits of using digital currencies.

The Executive Director added:

“[Joining the pilot] It helps us [improve] Our future payment infrastructure and offering innovative products and services to our customers.

The bank It was founded in 1992 by a group of South Russian companies that were privatized at the time.