According to ChainCatcher, a bill has been submitted to the Russian State Duma, which aims to force banks and merchants to use the digital ruble and implement a universal QR code payment system.
The bill plans to launch the digital ruble in stages, starting with systemically important banks on July 1, 2025, and expanding to all banks by 2027. Merchants must also accept the digital ruble.
By July 2025, businesses with annual revenues of more than 30 million rubles must enable digital ruble payments, with the threshold dropping to 20 million rubles by July 2026. Businesses in areas without mobile or internet access are exempt from this restriction.
The bill incorporates a universal QR code system to simplify the payment process, amends consumer protection laws, requires merchants to comply, and credit institutions and foreign bank branches to support transactions.