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The phased rollout of the delayed central bank digital currency (CBDC) could enhance the country’s economic autonomy and regional integration, though questions remain over cybersecurity, regulation and the balance between banks and the state.

Following the successful completion of an experiment involving the first transactions using the digital ruble, Russia’s financial authorities say the system is technically ready for phased adoption. 

After severe delays, the digital ruble initiative is finally picking up pace, although financial analysts warn of risks to users and the payment system. 

During the experiment, the Russian federal budget made the first payments to digital accounts opened on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation’s digital ruble platform, the Finance Ministry said in a  on September 30, 2025. 

The Russian treasury made CBDC payments to government officials, students receiving social payments under state-targeted programmes, and some government contractors. 

The bill paving the way for the introduction of the digital ruble in Russia was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on July 23, 2025. 

Delayed, but still coming

Originally scheduled for July 1, 2025, the mass CBDC rollout was postponed to January 1, 2026.

From this date, transactions between digital ruble wallets are due to be permitted. For retailers, the deadline was pushed back even further amid backlash from the business community. 

In November 2024, Russian retailers asked the government to postpone the mass introduction of the CBDC by two years, citing the need to allocate substantial investments to the necessary infrastructure. 

Under the new plan, only retailers with revenue of more than RUB120 million ($1.5 million) and a group of the largest banks are required to support digital ruble transactions from September 1, 2026. 

Retailers with annual revenue of RUB30 million ($369,000) and banks with universal licenses, which were originally expected to join the initiative from July 2025, will now be obligated to facilitate CBDC transactions from September 1, 2027. 

Russia has almost completely set the stage for the mass introduction of its CBDC, market participants believe. 

“The legal framework for the digital ruble’s operation has already been largely established: regulations governing the platform's operation, data protection, transaction procedures and interactions between participants have been adopted,” said Yaroslav Kabakov, strategy director at Finam, a Moscow-based financial advisory firm. 

However, some legal gaps still exist. For instance, Kabakov noted, anti-money laundering (AML) laws do not yet fully reflect the specifics of the digital ruble, so the Central Bank has introduced its own user identification requirements for platform access.

Cybersecurity in the spotlight 

Mass CBDC adoption comes with certain risks, primarily associated with cybercrime. 

“The first thing that raises questions is cybersecurity and data privacy,” said Dmitry Solomnikov, director of 1Capital, a Moscow-based financial market consultancy. 

“The digital ruble platform is a unified transaction database for the entire country. It concentrates information on all payments in one place, and despite the architecture’s security, absolute resilience is not possible,” he added. 

According to Solomnikov, whereas in the past a failure at one bank would not affect others, the mass introduction of the digital ruble would mean that any severe attack or technical error will become a systemic risk. 

Cybersecurity risks are highly relevant to Russia, as the national financial system and ordinary citizens are frequently falling victim to hacker attacks. 

Russia ranks  in the Oxford University ranking of the countries with the highest cyber threat risks. 

Kabakov agreed that cyber ​​risks and potential data leaks remain the greatest threat to the digital ruble initiative, adding that the system's centralized structure makes it an attractive target for attacks, requiring maximum security. 

However, Yuri Brisov, a partner at D&A Partners, a Moscow-based consultancy, argued that most systemic risks associated with the introduction of the digital ruble, including those related to cybersecurity, are manageable. 

“The infrastructure is initially designed in a similar way to the National System of Payment Cards, where all critical circuits are duplicated and operations are verified by hardware,” Brisov said.

The main risk associated with the digital ruble introduction may relate to privacy, as the system lays the foundation for complete government oversight of the movement of funds by businesses and citizens, Brisov noted. 

“In Russia's case, this risk could become critical for the system of protecting private property and privacy, which has already suffered numerous significant blows over the past 20 years,” he added.

Another potential issue is liquidity outflows from commercial banks, Solomnikov said. 

“When citizens have the opportunity to deposit money directly with the Central Bank, some deposits will inevitably flow out of the banking system,” Solomnikov said. 

Despite the central bank's efforts to maintain a balance with the commercial banking system, in the long run, banks’ weight will decline and the regulator’s influence will grow, Solomnikov added. 

The Russian central bank’s press office declined to comment on the risks associated with the introduction of the digital ruble in response to a 91����ԭ�� request. 

New horizons 

On a more positive note, the gradual introduction of CBDC promises essential benefits for the Russian economy, as it could facilitate easier, cheaper payments both within the country and with foreign partners. 

The digital ruble “will gradually displace non-cash systems and, certainly, cryptocurrencies in many areas,” D&A Partners’ Brisov said. 

“Real benefits will emerge at the cross-border level: in relations with China, India, the UAE and the Eurasia Union countries, where the digital ruble could be integrated into the cross-border payment system under regulatory oversight,” Brisov added.

The digital ruble could significantly accelerate and simplify payments, reduce business costs and increase the transparency of financial flows, Finam’s Kabakov agreed. 

“The digital ruble will become what the Mir card became for payment cards: an instrument of national sovereignty,” Brisov said. 

The potential benefits of the digital ruble will be the key factor in determining whether it is embraced by businesses and private users. 

“The experience of launching a digital financial asset earlier in Russia has shown that even with impeccable regulation, an instrument can remain only a paper instrument if banks and companies don't see economic value in it,” Brisov said.

He added that this may be the reason the central bank is currently avoiding imposing mandatory use of the digital ruble.

The success of the transition to a digital ruble is not yet guaranteed, Kabakov said, explaining that, in addition to utility, it will also depend on the platform’s technical stability, the effectiveness of data protection and the regulator’s ability to minimise potential negative consequences.