Russia's First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Olga Skorobogatova announced on Friday that the Bank of Russia is set to begin a pilot project on real transactions with the digital ruble starting April 1.

Skorobogatova was speaking on the sidelines of a fintech conference in Russia, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Skorobogatova clarified the pilot project would involve real transactions with real customers, but for a limited number of transactions and for a limited number of clients. 

She added that ordinary customers would not be able to participate in the testing phase, and the regulator will use the completion of the project to determine how to scale the use of the digital ruble. 

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The 13 banks that have been confirmed to participate have passed all tests — both technical and operational — and are expected to enter the pilot project with the clients they have identified.

"The pilot will go on real transactions, real customers, but for a limited number of transactions and for a limited number of clients with 13 banks that have already technically confirmed their readiness," Skorobogatova said.

The Bank of Russia's plan to test the digital ruble on real clients was announced earlier, and the regulator has set its sights on the launch of the exchange of the digital ruble for foreign currency and the opening of wallets for non-residents in 2024.

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Photo: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay