Russia is about to start a trial of cryptocurrency exchanges and use digital tokens in cross-border transactions to help ease payment difficulties for Russian companies hit by international sanctions, PANews reported. Two people familiar with the matter said the trial will begin on September 1.

They said Russia will use the national payment card system to exchange between rubles and cryptocurrencies when testing payment and trading platforms. In July, Russia's parliament passed bills legalizing cryptocurrency mining and a framework allowing testing of digital tokens for cross-border payments under the supervision of the central bank.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the bills into law on Aug. 8. The cryptocurrency experiments come as Russian businesses face increasing obstacles in paying suppliers overseas and getting paid for goods they export.