The main thing about the digital ruble: when it will appear and where it will be used

In October, the Bank of Russia announced that it was exploring the possibility of launching its own digital currency. We tell youwhether it will be possible to receive a salary in it, what are the advantages of the new form of money and what difficulties the regulator will face.

In October, the Bank of Russia said it would study the issuethe expediency of issuing a digital ruble. Public hearings will be held until December 31, 2020, and the Central Bank will work out the issue from an economic and technological point of view. In turn, the chairman of the regulator Elvira Nabiullina said that a pilot project to launch the digital ruble could start at the end of 2021.

Why you need a digital ruble

The full concept of the new currency will beprepared by the Bank of Russia after discussing the consultation report. The digital ruble will not fulfill the task of displacing any type of money, but will become its third form, along with cash and non-cash ones. According to Nabiullina, citizens and businesses will be able to choose for themselves in which cases it is more convenient for them to use which type of ruble. The goal of the Central Bank is to ensure the speed of conversion of one type of national currency into another.

There are no obstacles to, for example,pay wages in digital rubles, says Dmitry Zakharov, CEO of Moscow Digital Scool. However, the answer to the question of what the main use of the new currency will be depends on how the project to create it will be implemented.

It is assumed that the advantage of the digital rublewill be that they can pay both online and without access to the Internet and mobile communications. The Central Bank is confident that the development of a new currency will reduce the costs of settlements and increase financial accessibility, as well as open up opportunities for the development of financial services and instruments.

"The undoubted advantage of the new currency will be competition with non-cash funds.For example, now there is no alternative to bank acquisition when accepting payments.After all, if you don't trust banks and don't want to keep cash, it's also a great option for you."The digital currency will be on your e-wallet, not in your bank account," explainsZakharov.

Elena Gultyaeva, head of the legal committee of RACIB, added that the digital ruble will be very useful for organizing government payments, since the paths of all funds will be transparent.

The Ministry of Finance is confident that the digital ruble will reduceburden on banks, expand cross-border payments, reduce dependence on the dollar and exposure to sanctions. At the same time, the department noted that the emergence of a digital ruble will require the creation of a payment infrastructure and new types of services.

When will the digital ruble appear

According to the estimates of the director of the Center for Strategic Studies "Sotsioma" VladimirPanushkin, if by December 31, 2020 the Central Bank collects the first responses about the possibilities and the need for the introduction of the digital ruble, then it will take at least a year to generalize them, set the task and develop them. It will take at least another year to actively promote and explain the mechanisms of mutual settlements, since this process will affect all areas of activity of Russian citizens, who are sometimes very suspicious of the phenomenon of digital currencies.

“But this is only the beginning of a very long journey towardsreadjustment of many software systems, training and retraining of personnel, development of fundamentally new financial logistics from contracts to reports on their implementation. As a result, in our opinion, the creation and implementation of such a system in Russia, assuming the absence of internal contradictions and resistances, may take from 5 to 10 years, "Panushkin predicted.

Similar terms were called by the special representativeDmitry Peskov, President for Digital and Technological Development. In his opinion, a new currency may appear in Russia in 3-7 years, if development starts right now. Peskov noted that Russia has no chances to become a leader in this area, for this it was necessary to start the process four years ago.

The special envoy of the president suggested thatthe digital ruble will help solve the problem of poverty, as the new currency makes payments more transparent. Peskov also admits that receiving pensions and other payments can take place in a new currency, but for this it is necessary to provide access to digital infrastructure.

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