OREANDA-NEWS  From April 1, the Bank of Russia will launch a pilot project with 13 banks to test real transactions of individuals with a digital ruble, First deputy chairman of the regulator Olga Skorobogatova said. "We plan to launch the digital ruble project in the pilot stage from April 1, initially with the operations "transfers between individuals" and "payments in trade and service enterprises," she said on the sidelines of the Ural Cybersecurity Forum (quoted by Prime).

Skorobogatova stressed that the pilot project will take place on real operations and real clients, but the number of operations and clients will be limited. 13 banks are taking part in the project, which "have already technically confirmed their readiness."

The digital ruble should become a new form of Russian currency issued in addition to cash and non-cash rubles. According to the idea, the digital ruble will perform all three functions of money: a means of payment, a measure of value and a means of saving. The Central Bank announced the appearance of the digital ruble in 2020. At the end of 2022, a corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma. According to the bill, the Central Bank will be the operator of the digital ruble platform, it will be responsible for its operation and smooth functioning. Individuals and legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, as well as executive authorities will be able to become users.