<![CDATA[<figure class="image"><img src="https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/mts.jpeg" alt="The exterior of a Russian branch of MTS Bank." srcset="https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_1500_963.jpeg 1500w, https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_1200_770.jpeg 1200w, https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_900_578.jpeg 900w, https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_720_462.jpeg 720w, https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_600_385.jpeg 600w, https://cimg.co/news/123113/325769/responsive-images/mts___media_library_original_300_193.jpeg 300w" width="1500" class="content-img"><figcaption>Source: Alexandr Blinov/Adobe</figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://cryptonews.com/tags/russia/">Russian</a> banks MTS and PSB have begun testing <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/russian-regions-welcome-digital-ruble-developments-but-when-will-cbdc-debut.htm">the digital ruble</a>, with &ldquo;entrepreneurs&rdquo; using the <a href="https://cryptonews.com/tags/CBDC">CBDC</a> to pay for &ldquo;services.&rdquo;The nation&rsquo;s Central Bank has <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/600-russians-trial-cbdc-next-week-digital-ruble-pilot-begins.htm">fast-tracked its CBDC project in recent weeks</a>, and is eyeing a 2025-2027 national rollout.The banks, along with the likes of VTB Bank, say that their customers and employees have carried out &ldquo;real-world&rdquo; transactions with the coin after advanced pilots began last week.Per <a href="http://www.content-review.com/articles/61201/" rel="nofollow">Content-Review</a>, MTS&rsquo;s payment technology chief Igor Chuchkin said the bank was &ldquo;delighted to be among the first Russian banks to participate in the digital ruble pilot.&rdquo;Chuchkin said:<blockquote>&ldquo;We plan to look into more digital ruble-related offerings that we can offer our customers in the future, and we will base these on our initial experiences during the pilot.&rdquo;</blockquote>Meanwhile, PSB (full name: Promsvyazbank), gave details of one of the &ldquo;real-world&rdquo; digital ruble transactions carried out on its platform.Per the media outlet <a href="https://chel.aif.ru/money/psb_pervym_provel_raschety_v_cifrovyh_rublyah_mezhdu_biznesom_i_fizlicom?erid=LjN8JwGDZ" rel="nofollow">Argumenti i Facti</a>, PSB this week enabled one of its clients to &ldquo;open a digital wallet&rdquo; and use an app-generated QR code to &ldquo;successfully make a payment for services.&rdquo;The bank said the client was an entrepreneur who &ldquo;works in the field of online education.&rdquo;The media outlet added:<blockquote>&ldquo;The entrepreneur was also able to exchange digital rubles for [conventional] rubles and vice versa via the PSB mobile app, and carried out a B2C (business-to-customer) transaction in digital rubles.&rdquo;</blockquote>Transaction fees using the digital ruble have been set at 0.3%, although P2P transactions can be made free of charge, the Central Bank has stated.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://twitter.com/BusInsiderSSA/status/1692102146018152468"></oembed></figure><h2 id="russian-banks-pushing-for-cbdc-progress">Russian Banks Pushing for CBDC Progress?</h2>Some 11 other Russian banks are also testing the CBDC with a select group of their clients in almost a dozen cities nationwide.The Central Bank says that 16 other banks, including a number of regional banks, are &ldquo;ready&rdquo; to &ldquo;quickly&rdquo; join the pilot.But not all of the country&rsquo;s biggest banks are keen on the CBDC.The nation&rsquo;s <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/russian-banks-say-citizens-are-wary-of-cbdc-plans-digital-ruble-faces-roadblock.htm">biggest banking association has called on the Central Bank to slow the pace of the pilot</a>.And two Russian &ldquo;megabanks,&rdquo; Sberbank and Tinkoff, <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/moscow-metro-join-russias-digital-ruble-trial-cbdc-gathering-pace.htm">dropped out of the pilot at the eleventh hour</a>.It is currently unclear if the duo will join the pilot at a later date, or if they will wait until they are legally obliged to process CBDC transactions.Earlier this year, <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/cbdc-launch-may-cost-russian-banks-684m-year.htm">experts claimed commercial banks could lose $684 million a year if the Central Bank launched a CBDC</a>.
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Russian Banks MTS, PSB Say Customers Are Now Using Digital Ruble

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