The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) currently has no plans to create its own mobile application for the digital version of the upcoming national fiat currency. Regulators believe it will be cheaper and more efficient to use commercial banking apps, which Russians are already familiar with.
According to the publisher, established banking applications will allow Russians to quickly understand the benefits of the digital ruble.
While the Moscow Monetary Authority claims that providing access to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) through existing channels will also keep costs low, potential users are concerned about the opposite.
Russian bank offers access to digital ruble via app
Responding to questions about the digital ruble on Telegram, financial authorities said they were not considering another app for the following reasons:
“Firstly, we want to maintain the existing user experience for the convenience of citizens and businesses. To achieve this, the Digital Louvre is integrated into the banking apps that everyone already uses.”
“This will allow people to access new features in a familiar interface, quickly recognize the benefits of a new national currency, and use it as a payment and remittance tool,” CBR added in a recent post.
The bank also claimed that leveraging current banking channels instead of developing new ones “will significantly save resources for all participants,” as quoted by crypto news outlet Bits.media on Monday.
The comments answered a number of legitimate questions, including why we would continue to use the services of banks to handle digital rubles, when providing direct access to CBDC platforms would eliminate banking fees, bring savings to society as a whole, and make transactions less and more secure.
Because, as someone emphasized, if the digital ruble is transferred to a bank account and then withdrawn as cash, the respective institution will charge a fee. In fact, the central bank acknowledged the public’s concerns:
“When you transfer digital rubles to a bank account, the rubles become non-cash funds in your account with that particular bank. The conditions for withdrawal are usually specified in the contract with the bank.”
“Please tell me whether it makes sense for an ordinary person who is not familiar with financial assets and markets to convert non-cash rubles into digital rubles,” asks another.
CBR also cancels their expectations.
“Please note that the digital ruble is not a tool for investment or passive income…and you cannot earn interest on your digital ruble account balance…The digital ruble is the digital form of our country’s currency and can be used primarily for payments and transfers.”
The need for a digital ruble is in doubt before its full-scale launch
The Bank of Russia is promoting the digital ruble as a third form of legal tender in Russia, complementing rather than replacing cash or electronic “bank” money. It also touts CBDC as a way to make payments more efficient and secure.
At the same time, it seeks to allay concerns in Russia’s financial community that state-issued coins would undermine the traditional banking system, including the profits generated by institutions involved in the industry.
The result is a mixture of growing doubts about the need for a government-controlled digital currency from an economic point of view and concerns among Russian citizens that its main purpose is to increase the authorities’ influence over domestic financial flows.
Among the skeptics is German Gref, CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, who said earlier this year that he was struggling to see the potential benefits of a digitalized Russian ruble.
In November, Kirill Tremasov, chief advisor to CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina, also admitted that the benefits for consumers were “not clear” to him.
Meanwhile, for almost half of Russians, the digital ruble is just a tool for the government to manage finances, according to a poll published in October.
But central banks have been pushing for widespread adoption of CBDCs, especially after President Vladimir Putin called for widespread adoption this summer. The latter has been in development for quite some time and testing has been going on for three years now.
The initial plan to open for general use in 2025 was postponed to allow banks and businesses to properly prepare. According to the latest schedule proposed by the CBR in June, the digital ruble will be introduced in several stages from September 1, 2026.
