TL;DR
- Russia will launch the digital ruble on September 1, with MTS, Rostelecom, MegaFon, Wildberries and Ozon among the first adopters.
- The law in force since July 2025 requires large retailers to accept the CBDC from that date, with staggered deadlines until 2028 for smaller businesses.
- Surveys reveal public resistance: 51% do not want to use the digital ruble and 67% reject receiving it as salary.
Russia will take a definitive step in adopting its CBDC on September 1, when major telecommunications and e-commerce companies begin processing payments in digital rubles. The launch will extend a pilot that had been developing in stages and consolidates the State’s commitment to a digital payment system under exclusive government control, while keeping in place the ban on using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
Three of the country’s four main mobile operators confirmed their participation to Vedomosti: MTS, Rostelecom and MegaFon. MTS will process payments through its MTS Pay module, where users will be able to select the “Digital Ruble” option from the My MTS app. Rostelecom is working with an unidentified banking entity and will begin with specific e-commerce transactions, later incorporating recurring billing. MegaFon presents it simply as an additional payment option. VimpelCom, operator of Beeline, declined to comment.
The marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon will also join from September 1. Ozon informed RIA Novosti that it will start in “test mode” and expand later, while Wildberries stated that it complies with the Central Bank’s requirements.
Banking Infrastructure and Legal Deadlines in Russia
The incorporation of these companies is not voluntary in all cases. A law in force since July 2025 establishes that retailers with revenues exceeding 120 million rubles (approximately $1.5 million) must accept digital ruble payments as of September 1, 2026.
Companies with revenues exceeding 30 million rubles have until September 2027, and the rest until September 2028. Russia’s 12 systemically important banks, including Sber, VTB and Alfa-Bank, must have support for the currency from the initial launch. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina told TASS that “technologically, everything is ready“.
Users will not pay fees and will access their digital wallets from existing banking apps. The Central Bank plans to cap monthly top-ups at 300,000 rubles per bank.
Public Rejection
Russia’s strategy is based on drawing a clear line: citizens may invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but not use them for everyday payments. In a June consultation document, the Bank of Russia noted that, although several countries are evaluating national stablecoins to protect their monetary sovereignty, it proposes maintaining the ban on stablecoins and similar digital assets for domestic settlements.
However, surveys reveal that public adoption is far from guaranteed: 51% of respondents polled by VTsIOM in June 2025 did not want to try the digital ruble, and 67% surveyed by SuperJob rejected receiving it as part of their salary.
