Russia Will Let Citizens Convert Savings Into Digital Rubles
The new system won’t create more money — it will simply change how balances are recorded in your online bank.
The Bank of Russia has outlined how citizens will soon be able to convert their existing funds into digital rubles, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The process, the regulator explained on its official Telegram channel, is more about accounting than minting new money.
One Currency, Three Forms
To exchange cash for digital rubles, users will first deposit physical money into a bank account, then transfer it via their mobile banking app to a digital wallet hosted on the Bank of Russia’s national platform. The process can also be reversed — digital rubles can be converted back into a bank balance and withdrawn as cash.
The system gives consumers full flexibility to manage their money across three forms of rubles — cash, cashless, and digital — while keeping the total money supply unchanged.
The initiative marks another step in Russia’s gradual rollout of the digital ruble, which aims to modernize payments and improve transparency without altering the overall balance of the financial system.
