Sberbank Joins Digital Ruble Pilot Program

Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, has joined the digital ruble pilot program along with TBank and Tochka Bank, as stated by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) on December 28.

The program initially included 12 credit organizations, with expectations for an additional 14-15 banks to participate by 2025, according to Olga Skorobogatova, former First Deputy Governor of the CBR in an October statement.

With the addition of these three banks, the program now comprises 15 organizations, including existing participants such as VTB, Alfa-Bank, DOM.RF Bank, Ingosstrakh Bank, Gazprombank, Ak Bars Bank, MTS Bank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank, Sinara Bank, TKB Bank, and Russian Agricultural Bank.

A total of 22 banks have signed agreements with the central bank and are working on their systems for the project.

The digital ruble, representing a third form of Russian national currency alongside cash and non-cash money, began its pilot phase with real digital rubles in August 2023. The central bank expanded testing from 600 to 9,000 participants as of October 2024.

From July 2025, Russia’s major banks will be required to support digital ruble functionality for customers. The central bank announced in September that banks must allow customers to “open and top up digital ruble accounts, make transfers, and accept digital rubles in their infrastructure.” Smaller financial institutions will implement these features in subsequent years.

Banks failing to prepare by the deadline may be fined by the CBR. The central bank aims to make the digital ruble accessible for citizens and businesses to “freely use it on an equal basis with cash and non-cash funds.”