According to Odaily Planet Daily, Russia plans to use the digital ruble for its first cross-border payment in the second half of next year. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Financial Market Committee, said that central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions with China or Belarus are in the works.
Before Russia conducted cross-border tests, it had already launched CBDC promotion domestically. The first phase of the pilot was launched in August 2023, and VTB was the first Russian bank to conduct transactions. Currently, 30 companies in 11 cities in Russia support the acceptance of digital rubles through VTB.
