Russia Onboarding 30 Banks in CBDC Pilot

(by Kevin Helms | Bitcoin.com) – The number of banks participating in Russia’s central bank digital currency pilot has increased to 30. Seventeen banks have signed an agreement with the Bank of Russia to participate in the digital ruble program. They will join 13 other banks, about 600 citizens, and 30 trading and service companies that are already testing Russia’s central bank digital currency.

17 Banks to Join 13 Other Banks in Digital Ruble Pilot

Russia’s central bank, the Bank of Russia, announced on Wednesday that 17 additional banks are gearing up to join its digital ruble pilot program. These financial institutions have already signed an agreement with the Russian central bank and are now implementing the necessary systems to participate in the upcoming expanded pilot.

Currently, 13 banks are already participating in the digital ruble pilot, along with around 600 citizens and 30 trading and service companies. These participants are already actively involved in testing operations with real digital rubles. The 13 existing participating banks are Alfa Bank, Dom.Rf Bank, Ingosstrakh Bank, VTB Bank, GPB Bank, Qiwi Bank, Ak Bars Bank, MTS Bank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank, Sinara Bank, Rosbank, and TKB Bank.

The 17 banks that will join them in the extended digital ruble pilot are AB Bank Russia, Bank Orenburg, Russian Standard Bank, SME Bank, Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank), Tinkoff Bank, Expobank, Novikombank, Bank RRB, Kuban Credit Bank, Tochka Bank, Primtercombank, Rosdorbank, Sberbank, CB Center-Invest, RNKB Bank, and Dengi.Mail.Ru. Read full article >