Russian telecom giants prepare to accept digital ruble payments from Sept. 1

Russia’s MTS, Rostelecom and MegaFon have prepared to accept digital ruble payments from Sept. 1 as Russia begins the first mandatory stage of its nationwide central bank digital currency rollout.

Vedomosti reported that the three major telecommunications operators are preparing their payment systems for the launch, with MTS offering digital ruble transactions across services connected to MTS Pay while Rostelecom and MegaFon work on their own integrations.

MTS plans to make the payment option available without restricting it to particular products or services. Customers will initially be able to use digital rubles through the My MTS mobile app and the company’s online store, while other services using the MTS Pay payment module can also support the option.

For customers, the process will work much like Russia’s Faster Payments System. A user with a digital ruble account can select the digital ruble at checkout, choose a participating bank and approve the transaction through the bank’s interface, according to MTS.

The digital ruble account itself is held on the Bank of Russia’s platform, with commercial banks providing customers access through their apps. The central bank issues the CBDC and operates the underlying platform, while one digital ruble remains equal in value to one conventional ruble.

Rostelecom will begin digital ruble payments on its website

Rostelecom is completing technical work with what it described to Vedomosti as one of Russia’s largest banks, although the telecommunications company did not identify the lender.

At launch, customers will be able to use digital rubles for one-time payments made through Rostelecom’s official website. The operator plans to add the payment option to customer accounts later, extending the service beyond the first web-based implementation.

Regular payments and automatic account top-ups will take longer. Rostelecom said the functions will be introduced as the Bank of Russia’s digital ruble platform becomes technically capable of processing them.

MegaFon is also preparing to add the digital ruble as another payment option for its customers. VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, declined to comment on its plans, according to the report.

The telecom launches put some of Russia’s largest recurring-payment businesses among the first major companies moving onto the CBDC infrastructure. MTS alone plans to use its existing MTS Pay integration instead of building a separate payment route for each product, allowing the digital ruble option to work wherever the module has already been installed.

Digital ruble rollout puts large merchants on Sept. 1 deadline

The telecom preparations come days before a legal deadline that will require part of Russia’s largest retail and service sector to support digital ruble payments.

Under Bank of Russia rules, merchants with revenue above 120 million rubles in the previous calendar year must provide the payment option by Sept. 1 if they met the required banking conditions at the start of 2026, including having an electronic payment acceptance agreement with a bank recognized as significant in Russia’s payment-services market.

The requirement will expand in stages. From Sept. 1, 2027, businesses with annual revenue above 30 million rubles that meet the applicable banking requirements will come under the rollout. Another stage will follow in September 2028 for other merchants with revenue of at least 20 million rubles, while certain smaller outlets and locations without internet access are exempt.

As crypto.news previously reported on July 3, the first stage also requires Russia’s largest banks to provide customers access to digital ruble services from Sept. 1. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said preparations for the scheduled rollout were ready at the time.

Russia has classified the digital ruble as a third form of its national currency alongside cash and existing non-cash rubles. Individuals will not be required to open a digital ruble account, and the Bank of Russia says accounts cannot be created automatically without the customer choosing to do so.

Access will be provided through participating banking apps. Russia’s 12 systemically important banks include major lenders such as Sberbank, VTB, T-Bank and Alfa-Bank, with customers expected to gain access to the CBDC platform through their existing banking interfaces.

Russia’s two largest online marketplaces have also prepared for the September launch. Wildberries and Ozon said they plan to begin supporting digital ruble payments from Sept. 1, adding some of the country’s largest e-commerce platforms to the first stage of commercial adoption.

Ozon has said it will initially accept the digital ruble in a testing mode alongside existing payment methods before expanding access to its customer base. Wildberries has said its implementation is being carried out in line with central bank requirements and current regulations.

Digital ruble payments will remain free for consumers

For individuals, transferring digital rubles to another person or paying a company carries no platform fee under the Bank of Russia’s tariff structure.

Businesses are also receiving a temporary fee exemption. The Bank of Russia has set a zero tariff for applicable business transactions through the end of 2026, while a 0.3% charge of up to 1,500 rubles per customer-to-business transfer is scheduled to apply from Jan. 1, 2027 for most commercial payments.

Customers can fund a digital ruble account by transferring regular non-cash rubles from their bank account. The Bank of Russia has set a limit of 300,000 rubles per month on the amount an individual can move from personal bank accounts into the digital ruble account.

The restriction applies to account funding, not to the total amount a user may ultimately hold after receiving digital rubles from other people or organizations, according to the central bank. Digital rubles can also be transferred back to a conventional bank account before being withdrawn as cash.

The payment rollout follows several years of testing. Russia began piloting the digital ruble with a limited group of banks and users in August 2023, gradually adding participants and transaction types before moving toward the 2026 commercial rollout.

Implementation has required substantial changes inside the banking sector. In October 2024, banks raised concerns that connecting to the CBDC platform could cost smaller institutions between 120 million and more than 200 million rubles because banks would need to update core systems, compliance software and other technology.

The phased timetable gives smaller financial institutions additional time to make those changes, while the largest banks enter first. The Bank of Russia has said universal-license banks will follow in September 2027, with banks holding basic licenses entering the system during the next stage in September 2028.

Russia is rolling out digital ruble alongside new crypto rules

The Sept. 1 CBDC expansion is arriving as Russia also changes the legal framework governing private cryptocurrencies, although the two systems remain legally separate.

On July 6, Sberbank disclosed plans to introduce a cryptocurrency wallet and digital asset depository after Russia’s new digital asset rules take effect. The lender also considered providing customers access to foreign crypto exchanges subject to final regulatory conditions.

Later in July, the Bank of Russia outlined operating rules for regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset depositories and digital currency accounts. The proposed regime includes registration requirements and capital rules for depositories while preserving restrictions on retail investor access.

Private cryptocurrencies and stablecoins remain prohibited as ordinary domestic payment instruments under Russia’s crypto framework, while approved uses can include regulated investment activity and certain cross-border transactions. The digital ruble, by comparison, is issued directly by the Bank of Russia and is being introduced as legal national currency for domestic payments.

From Sept. 1, merchants covered by the first-stage rules can begin accepting the CBDC by opening a digital ruble account through a participating credit institution and configuring their payment equipment. The Bank of Russia says payments can use a universal QR code, with funds credited to a merchant’s digital ruble account in real time.