Bank of Russia’s chief, Elvira Nabiullina, has indicated a gradual approach to adopting the digital ruble, with scaling expected no earlier than 2025. The transition to mass usage is projected to take five to seven years.

Nabiullina highlighted that the scaling timeline would depend on the pilot project’s outcomes. She emphasized that significant scaling would not occur before 2025, regardless of the project’s results.

The widespread implementation of the digital ruble is expected to take five to seven years, as it needs to be a convenient choice for people and businesses. The digital ruble is seen as an additional payment method alongside existing options like the Faster Payments System and Mir payment cards.

While Russia is taking a cautious approach to digital currency adoption, China has already started paying civil servants in digital yuan to promote the state-controlled currency’s usage.

The Bank of Russia reassured citizens that the digital ruble will coexist with cash rubles and is not intended to replace physical cash. Despite the slow pace of adoption, the digital ruble is seen as a significant step towards modernizing Russia’s payment systems.

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