Russia’s monetary authority has updated the rules for opening digital ruble accounts, and the end result is a complicated procedure for ordinary Russians and small businesses.
The regulator wants to learn a lot about future users, and that’s likely to limit access to the new incarnation of the national fiat, the mass adoption of which is slated to begin this year.
Bank of Russia approves new rules for digital ruble accounts
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has amended its requirements for those who wish to open their own digital ruble accounts.
To apply for one, individuals and sole proprietors must share their taxpayer identification and social security numbers with the financial regulator.
According to the revised set of rules, they also need to register with Russia’s Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA).
This is mandatory for all who want to access various government services, such as those provided through the dedicated “Gosuslugi” portal.
To complete the account opening procedure, applicants need to appear in person at the ESIA and obtain a unique electronic signature key.
Citizens banned from using digital ruble accounts for business
Russian crypto media drew attention to the latest version of the rules on Friday, introduced through amendments to a regulation concerning the digital ruble platform.
Quoted by Bits.media, the recently published document further clarifies that regular digital ruble accounts of private Russian citizens can be used only for transactions that are not related to business.
However, self-employed persons who are not registered as sole proprietors will be able to use their accounts for transfers linked to their activities.
The new regulation expands the group of professionals allowed to use the central bank digital currency (CBDC) accounts for professional reasons.
Besides individual entrepreneurs and self-employed, notaries, lawyers, patent attorneys, mediators, insolvency agents, and appraisers are also now listed, the report detailed.
The changes do not affect other types of digital ruble accounts such as those opened by legal entities, including companies, banking institutions and other organizations. Although branches of the latter will not be permitted to open CBDC accounts.
Digital ruble platform to be open to the public in September
The project to issue the Russian ruble in digital form is several years old now. Trials with a limited number of participants started in 2023, and the pilot has been expanded since.
A full-scale launch of the state-issued coin was initially planned for 2025 but postponed by the CBR to give banks and firms more time to prepare.
Then, following a call from President Putin for mass adoption of the CBDC last spring, the monetary authority quickly set new dates for its introduction.
According to the latest timetable proposed by the CBR and later approved by lawmakers in Moscow, the digital ruble will be introduced in several stages.
At the start of the first one, scheduled for September 1, 2026, Russia’s largest banks must be able to process digital ruble transactions for their clients.
While some officials at the Bank of Russia expect the third form of the national fiat, after cash and bank money, to eventually take over up to 5% of non-cash payments, others are not convinced yet that Russians will jump on the CBDC bandwagon en masse.
According to Kirill Tremasov, advisor to CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina, the main positives will be felt in the public sector and the Russian economy as a whole. According to an estimate released in August, the digital ruble may annually add up to $ 3.3 billion to the Russian economy.