The Central Bank will consider the option of developing a separate application for the digital ruble

A representative of the Bank of Russia clarified to the newspaper that the regulator is ready to consider proposals for the development of such an application and discuss them with market participants.

The Association of Russian Banks previously expressed concerns about the high costs for medium and small banks of infrastructure changes to work with the digital ruble. According to ADB estimates, upgrading the systems could cost the bank between 85 and 150 million rubles. Since the introduction of the digital ruble will be mandatory in 2026 for banks with a universal license and in 2027 for banks with a basic license, this creates a serious burden for small players.

As a solution, the ADB proposed developing a single application, similar to SBPay, as well as creating certification centers based on the Bank of Russia or a single operator. This will allow banks to connect to a common platform with minimal cost and effort.

In its response, the Central Bank stressed that it is ready to consider proposals to create an application and optimize the architecture for the introduction of the digital ruble. The regulator also said it would provide platform participants with specialized software for crypto trading. This software will be available free of charge, which will significantly reduce banking costs.

Sinara Bank Innovation Director Vitaly Kopysov believes that the universal application will allow optimal expansion of the digital ruble project and provide access to the technology to all participants in the financial system, including non-residents. Nikolai Kozak, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dom.RF Bank, adds that the centralized application will ensure high security of operations and more efficient use of resources.

President of the Electronic Money Association Viktor Dostov believes that a single application will be a convenient tool for users, especially banks with limited resources, to develop their own solutions. Mikhail Petrov, head of the technological development and implementation control department at Rosdorbank, notes that the centralized application will minimize the risks of fraud.

Despite the benefits, Roman Prokhorov, chairman of the board of directors of the Financial Innovation Association, warns that integration with existing systems can be difficult. Lyudmila Kupriyanova, head of the Digital Ruble project at Expobank, notes that connecting to a single application is theoretically cheaper, but banks are deprived of the opportunity to recover the costs of developing their own solutions.

Rodion Trufanov, project director at IT company EvApps, estimated the cost of creating an application between tens of millions and 100 million rubles, depending on the functionality and integrations. According to him, the development of an initial version can take 4-5 months, but the full release of all features will require a year or more. Petrov believes that gradually introducing the functionality once main operations begin may be the optimal solution.

The Bank of Russia began testing the digital ruble in February 2022. Transfers in digital rubles between citizens were then successfully carried out. By the summer of 2024, the Central Bank had significantly expanded the digital ruble pilot project. As of September 1, individuals and several credit institutions joined.