Digital ruble launched
Major banks and retail companies will make their infrastructure available for processing digital rubles on 1 September 2026.
Starting from this date, individuals will be able to use the new form of the national currency, if they wish. To do so, they will need to open an account on the Bank of Russia’s platform. This can be done in the Digital Ruble section that will appear in the mobile applications of banks connected to the platform. An individual or a company may have only one account while individual entrepreneurs are permitted to have two accounts for personal use and for business purposes.
Individuals will be able to top up digital ruble accounts from their bank accounts by up to ₽300,000 per month. Businesses will have no top-up limit. Both individuals and businesses will be able to use all funds in their digital wallets without any restrictions. Available operations will include customer-to-customer and business-to-business transfers, as well as transfers to/from government, purchases, and refunds.
Additionally, certain banks wish to provide digital ruble services now, though they are not legally obliged to make their infrastructure available this autumn. The regulator has given them this opportunity.
For individuals, all payments and transfers in digital rubles will be free of charge. Businesses will be granted a grace period until the end of 2026, when no fees will be charged for payments and transfers. From 2027, individual entrepreneurs and businesses will have to pay fees that will be the lowest in the payment market.
If platform users have any problems with transactions in digital rubles, they should contact their banks first. If the problem persists, users may call the Bank of Russia’s round-the-clock digital ruble hotline at 8 800 301 30 00 (free of charge in Russia), or 301 (free of charge for mobile subscribers), or +7 499 300 3 301 (charges are set by a respective mobile operator).
More information about the digital ruble is available on the Bank of Russia website.