Sberbank’s Involvement in CBDC
Russia’s Sber, the operator of Sberbank, has announced its participation in the Central Bank’s digital ruble pilot program. This move is seen as a major achievement for the nation’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative. Sber’s influential CEO, former Economy Minister Herman Gref, confirmed that the bank will join the “second wave” of banks that will begin testing the digital ruble in 2024, according to Vedemosti.
Sberbank, which is majority-owned by the Russian state and is the largest bank in the country, has strategically positioned itself as a prominent player in the tech industry in recent years. It operates the Okko streaming service, the Citymobil taxi service, and owns popular cloud storage service SberSound and food delivery platform SberMarket.
Implications for the Central Bank
Sber’s decision to join the CBDC pilot program is significant for the Central Bank. Earlier this year, Sber surprised many by withdrawing from the first stage of the pilot just before its launch. Speculations arose that Sber may be waiting for legal obligations before participating in digital ruble services. The Central Bank has already confirmed that 16 banks will be added to the pilot in early 2023, joining the existing group of 13. While the full list of financial institutions participating in the 2024 pilot has yet to be released by the Central Bank, the addition of Sber and Center-invest is a positive development.
Center-invest, a major player in the Rostov and southern regions of Russia, has also expressed its intention to offer select clients the opportunity to use digital ruble services next year. This follows the Chinese model, where the central bank collaborated with “big four” commercial banks in the early stages of the digital yuan pilot and expanded to include regional banks, smaller niche banks, and diverse financial institutions.
By joining the pilot, Sber has the potential to become a key player in Russia’s digital ecosystem, similar to China’s Tencent. Like Tencent, Sber may consider integrating the digital ruble into its various digital platforms and services, such as the WeChat e-CNY payment options. This integration could further deepen Sber’s involvement in the CBDC initiative.
