For citizens of the Russian Federation, transfers in digital rubles will be free. This was expressed by the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, during a reporting speech to the State Duma. According to the Kommersant newspaper, it will be possible to deposit up to 300,000 rubles per month in a digital ruble wallet. Nobody forces you to use this payment method.
“The main thing we will talk about is volunteering. It will be the person’s choice. For example, some people do not and will not use smartphones. The head of the Central Bank stated that they will always have access to other forms of money they are used to, both cash and non-cash.
According to him, the digital ruble will not be used for savings – no interest will be charged on accounts with this electronic currency, and no loans will be issued on them.
Work on the platform for digital rubles ended in December 2021. The Central Bank of Russia will manage this and issue digital rubles. The project implementation plan states that with their help, the Russians will open electronic wallets, paying for goods and services.
Also, Nabiullina told deputies of the lower house of the Russian parliament that the Bank of Russia is ready to show flexibility “on business deals with foreign parties” using cryptocurrency.
Moreover, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is not opposed to agreements with Western companies that leave Russia with special bonds instead of foreign currency to protect Central Bank assets frozen abroad.
Nabiullina also set the condition for the regulator to intervene in the functioning of the foreign exchange market – emphasizing that this is possible only “if there is a threat to financial stability.”
He added that now the Central Bank cannot lift restrictions on the issuance of funds from foreign exchange deposits to citizens.
Elvira Nabiullina also touched on inflation issues – according to her the annual rate fell to 3.5% in March and will drop again in April 2023. At the same time, “external conditions continue to be difficult” and citizens and businesses have “higher inflation expectations than five years ago.”
He added that to make room for a significant rate cut, pro-inflationary risks must be mitigated.
Finally, Elvira Nabiullina said that Russian banks should be held more accountable for the actions of fraudsters and asked banks to refund customers who were duped if they were transferred to known fraudulent accounts.
The head of the Central Bank of Russia described the development of cross-border payments as another important task – so that it would be possible to make payments with foreign partners, bypassing the sanctions imposed on the country.