Russian businesses are beginning to adopt the digital ruble, Russia’s official central bank digital currency (CBDC).
According to a recent article from SPB IT RU, the government-controlled Sirius Innovation Science and Technology Center has inaugurated a corporate digital ruble wallet.
The institution has already employed this wallet to efficiently carry out commercial transactions.
Functioning under the purview of the President’s Office, the center is a government-operated establishment dedicated to IT research and education.
The news source detailed that the Sirius Innovation Science and Technology Center utilized a remote online business banking platform designed by VTB Bank to establish its digital wallet.
Subsequently, the center employed this wallet to execute among Russia’s inaugural customer-to-business (C2B) transactions using the digital ruble.
More Russian Firms Set to Use Digital Ruble?
Following the footsteps of Sirius, Rostelecom, the government-run telecommunications and digital services entity, recently disclosed that it too has inaugurated a digital ruble wallet.
This telecom giant revealed that they employed the VTB Bank’s platform for the creation of its wallet and have actively been using it for their customer-to-business (C2B) operations.
Citing Sergei Anokhin, Rostelecom’s First Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Cnews reported:
“As a digital associate of VTB Bank, we were among the pioneers to explore the digital ruble’s capabilities. Our initial transactions with the digital currency have proven successful.”
Alexander Botsiev, the Senior Vice President at VTB, remarked:
“Our VTB remote banking system’s interface enables companies to efficiently engage with this novel iteration of the national currency.”
A representative from Sirius commented:
“We are delighted to join hands with the Central Bank and other stakeholders in the evolution and rollout of the [CBDC].”
In the beginning of September, a beauty salon located in Yekaterinburg made headlines as one of the pioneering Russian merchants to embrace a payment through the digital RUB, facilitated by the DeloBank banking platform.
Meanwhile, another financial institution, PSB, previously announced its role in aiding one of its customers to “establish a digital wallet.” This customer subsequently utilized a QR code generated by an app to “settle a payment for services.”
Currently, the digital currency has been adopted by around 600 individuals across 11 cities. An array of banks are also geared up to participate in the pilot project in the upcoming year.
