The pilot of the Russian digital ruble officially begins, with zero fees for individuals

The digital currency of the Russian Central Bank, Digital Ruble, which is developed under the leadership of the Central Bank of Russia, has officially unveiled its logo and announced the transaction fee rates. Individuals will be exempt from transaction fees, while businesses will start being charged fees from 2025 onwards.

Digital Ruble Pilot Officially Begins

According to previous reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Digital Ruble bill on July 24, which officially came into effect on August 1. The new law authorizes the Russian Central Bank to launch the first CBDC pilot for consumers in August. The Central Bank of Russia will operate the infrastructure for the Digital Ruble and will be responsible for all stored assets. The Digital Ruble is intended for use as a means of payment and remittance, not for investment purposes.

In August of this year, the Central Bank of Russia plans to begin real transaction pilot tests of the Digital Ruble with limited participation from customers of 13 banks. The pilot will consist of several stages and is expected to be completed by 2023 and 2024, with adoption of the Digital Ruble gradually taking place and expected to start in 2025.

No Transaction Fees for Individuals

On August 3, the Central Bank of Russia officially announced the logo of the Digital Ruble and set the transaction fees in this announcement. Individuals will not be charged any fees for payments and transfers with the Digital Ruble, while businesses will incur the following fees after January 1, 2025, with no fees charged prior to that date:

• Individuals transferring to businesses will have fees paid by the businesses
  • Fees for housing and utilities companies will be 0.2%, but not exceeding 10 RUB
  • For other goods and services payments, the fee will be 0.3% with a cap of 1,500 RUB, approximately $15.8
• Business-to-Business (B2B) transfer fees will be 15 RUB per transaction
• No fees will be charged for individual-to-individual (C2C) and business-to-individual transfers

Any individual or business can open a Digital Ruble account and digital wallet for free on the Central Bank of Russia's platform. Similarly, transfers from a bank account to a digital wallet and from a digital wallet to a bank account with the Digital Ruble will also be free of charge.

Former head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, previously stated that Russian citizens will not be compelled to use the CBDC, and the use of the Digital Ruble will be a voluntary choice made by individuals. However, the announcement of zero transaction fees indicates the government's enthusiasm for promoting the Digital Ruble.