“One should say that small and medium businesses and individual entrepreneurs are showing a very significant interest in what the digital ruble may offer them,” Nabiullina assessed, hinting at a business push for this kind of payment tool.
The digital ruble launched nationwide on September 1, after undergoing a pilot program for over three years. Offering a balance after its introduction, Nabiullina pointed out that 87,000 users had opened accounts by September 11.
This means the number of accounts rose significantly in the two months since its launch.
Nabiullina also stressed that the bank was constantly consulting banks and businesses to understand and develop services on top of the digital ruble platform.
“Towards the end of November, we will be launching a subscription service. Many believe this is going to be very much in demand. Next year, we plan to test offline payments and launch several useful services for businesses,” Nabiullina concluded.
National institutions are already integrating digital ruble payroll services. The Ministry of Finance announced that it was allowing its employees to collect wages in digital ruble, stressing that this option was available to all Russian citizens.
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, also stressed that the digital ruble network could connect to fiat banking systems to allow direct ATM withdrawals, facilitating the use of the digital currency and enticing a broader adoption of the Russian CBDC.