In an effort to further test and develop the digital ruble, more Russian banks are set to join the pilot program. Center-invest Bank, primarily operating in the south of the country, has signed a partnership agreement with the Central Bank, the operator of the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).
The inclusion of Center-invest Bank will place them in the second group of banks that will allow their clients to use the digital ruble in real-world scenarios. Currently, they are preparing their systems and protocols to test the operations with the digital ruble.
Earlier this year, a first batch of 13 Russian banks, including major players like VTB and Rosbank, started piloting the digital ruble with selected clients and employees across 11 cities. This successful pilot program has led to the Moscow Metro accepting digital ruble payments.
However, the Central Bank faced a setback when Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, withdrew from the pilot program just before its launch. Sberbank’s absence from the second group of banks has left many curious about their CBDC intentions.
The participation of Center-invest Bank is noteworthy due to the bank’s focus on serving customers and businesses in Southern Russia. This could indicate a strategic approach similar to China’s digital yuan pilot program, where larger state-run banks were the initial participants, followed by regional banks.
The identities of the other banks in the second group have yet to be officially confirmed. However, the Central Bank has stated that this group of 16 banks will join the pilot program in 2024.
