Russia will allow residents of other countries to transact with the digital ruble – Bits Media

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation will provide foreign citizens and organizations with the opportunity to conduct transactions with state digital currency.

Bank of Russia in the Project of main directions of digitalization of the financial market for the period 2022–2024
indicated, which will facilitate the exchange of state digital currency for foreign currency. The regulator will allow users, outside its jurisdiction, open and use Central Bank digital currency wallets.

At the first stage of testing the digital ruble in 2022 year, the Bank of Russia will invite credit institutions and conduct consumer-to-consumer transactions. At the second stage, the Federal Treasury will join it along with financial intermediaries, such as non-bank payment service providers, exchanges, brokers, trading platforms and insurance companies.

Over time, smart contracts and offline mode will be introduced, as well as the ability to convert the digital ruble into foreign currency. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation says, that the use of the Central Bank’s digital currency offline will increase the accessibility of financial services for the population. It says, that uniform fees will reduce transaction costs. The platform will also be used for targeted payments by citizens and businesses.

In the document, the Russian Central Bank once again drew attention to the risks, which he sees in public cryptocurrencies. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation confirms its position, according to which cryptocurrencies cannot be used as a means of payment due to their high volatility.

Recognizing, that there are different approaches to regulation, Central Bank, nevertheless, highlights the trend towards tightening regulation of the crypto industry. The Bank of Russia also insists that, that the state digital currency is capable of ensuring the security of digital payments.

Russia in 2021 year is moving at an accelerated pace towards the launch of a state digital currency. At the same time, Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said, that the digital ruble will be implemented in the country only if it is freely convertible into cash and non-cash forms of the Russian ruble. Last month, Kirill Pronin, director of the Bank of Russia’s financial technology department, said, that digital ruble commissions will be comparable to commissions for transfers to SBP. At the same time, Russian parliamentary committees believe, that banks and information security of the country will suffer from the implementation of the state digital currency.