The Russian State Duma recently submitted a bill that plans to mandate banks and merchants to use the digital ruble and implement a universal QR code payment system. 😮 This proposal, led by several lawmakers, aims to launch the digital ruble in systemically important banks starting from July 1, 2025, and then expand to all banks by 2027. Merchants will also be required to accept digital ruble payments to encourage public usage.

The bill also stipulates that businesses with annual revenue exceeding 30 million rubles must enable digital ruble payments by July 2025, with the threshold lowered to 20 million rubles starting July 2026. 📊 Businesses in areas without mobile or internet access are exempt from this requirement. By integrating with the universal QR code system, the payment process will be further simplified, and amendments to consumer protection laws will require merchants to comply with regulations to ensure the widespread adoption of the digital ruble. 💼