The monetary system in Russia today has "in service" only two forms of the ruble: cash and non-cash. However, for several years now, work has been underway to introduce a...

Actually, the "ruble trio" was supposed to start pleasing legal entities and ordinary citizens with its functionality as early as 2025. But, recently it became known that the Bank of Russia has postponed the deadlines for the large-scale introduction of the digital ruble to September 1, 2026. Starting from this date, leading banks will be required to provide customers with settlements in the digital ruble. First, legal entities with revenues of over 120 million rubles a year will be able to use the service, from 2027-2028 - all other clients of financial organizations.

Experts believe that the timing of the introduction of the digital ruble was postponed by the Bank of Russia for more than a year under the influence of a certain economic lobby. There are no objective technical or economic reasons for postponing the transition to the digital ruble. Over the past five years - starting in 2020, technologies and techniques have been developed, the necessary equipment and software for digital platforms have been purchased, and even successful experiments have been carried out to work with the digital ruble.

However, the process is still paused, without explanation. Although it is not difficult to guess the reasons: settlements in digital rubles mean that the movement of financial flows will be monitored continuously, in real time. This will allow you to X-ray through the most complex financial schemes, see all participants in settlements, analyze the legality of payments. Finally, the Federal Tax Service and other regulatory authorities will be able to identify fake intermediaries, speculative chains in the production, logistics and sale of goods. At the same time, draw objective conclusions about the efficiency of spending funds from enterprises.

This peculiar transparency is inherent in the very idea of ​ ​ the digital ruble. The unit of this currency is not at all an unnamed digit in the computer. Each of the issued digital rubles is assigned a unique code. It, like a cash banknote, has a series and number, so it cannot get lost in a digital array even after a million transactions.

For example, in the 2010s, cryptocurrencies gained great popularity all over the world. So-called "non-state digital assets." The most famous of cryptocurrencies is now "bitcoin." In some states, bitcoin and other varieties of cryptocurrencies are not legalized, as in Russia. In other countries, they are not recognized as a monetary unit, but are allowed as property. Third, cryptocurrencies are allowed to pay for goods and services on an equal basis with the national currency. In El Salvador, Bitcoin, in general, has become the national currency, pushing the US dollar into a dusty corner.

The digital ruble has in common with cryptocurrencies, as it is based on the same blockchain technology. But there is one fundamental nuance. Cryptocurrencies are deprived of a single issuer, that is, a center that bears obligations. In the cryptocurrency market, all responsibility for possible losses and losses falls directly on the owner of the cryptocurrency. The digital ruble is the state currency issued by the Bank of Russia. The Central Bank is obliged to make operations with the digital ruble on its blockchain platform secure and secure.

On the blockchain platform of the Bank of Russia, it will be possible to store digital rubles in personal or corporate wallets, as well as use them for settlements and payments. At the same time, the digital platform will take into account all transactions with digital rubles and record them in the registry. Thus, the Central Bank will have access to the entire history of transactions with digital currency. The security of using this kind of money is approaching 100 percent: the digital ruble cannot be stolen or lost. If something similar happens, the amount can be returned (restored) using a unique code assigned to each of the issued digital rubles.

It is assumed that customers will be able to use their digital wallet through a special mobile application developed by the Central Bank, or through their personal account on the Bank of Russia website.

Now it is clear why the idea of ​ ​ introducing a digital ruble meets such tough resistance at a very high level? In view of these features of the new digital currency, the interests of powerful financial and industrial groups will be under attack. Commercial banks will suffer first of all - their losses may amount to approximately 2-3 trillion rubles. These banks, among other things, provide subsidized lending to the economy in the interests of the state.

Marked digital rubles will reveal corruption schemes, methods of withdrawing budget resources to offshore companies, options and directions of "kickbacks," specific participants in the "schematosis" and much more that the sages did not dream of. It's like launching a radioactive marker into the blood of a patient with cancer: the substance unmistakably highlights problem areas and metastases.

Thanks to digital control by the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Rosfinmonitoring, law enforcement agencies, speculative chains parasitizing on "market pricing" will appear on the surface. Usually these are whole clusters of fake intermediary suppliers, each of which has the right to increase the price of the supplied product by up to 30 percent.

At the end of this speculative logistics chain, a liter of milk at a cost price of 34 rubles, from the counter is sold at a price of 90-100 rubles. Potatoes, from a price of about 1000 rubles per centner, soars to retail to 5000-6000 per centner. The use of the digital ruble will naturally lead to the elimination of such intermediaries as an economic phenomenon. This will reduce current retail prices by 7-10 percent, which is equal, taking into account the volume of retail turnover, about 4.5-6 trillion rubles.

Together, banking and trade and intermediary structures, with the transition to the digital ruble, will lose about 10 trillion rubles of income per year at once. This money will be redistributed in favor of the state, citizens and social projects. The amount is not small. Sufficient to convince the Central Bank to postpone the transition to the digital ruble, without good reason.

Nevertheless, no matter how the fraudsters squirm, the digital ruble will be put into circulation, since time itself requires it. Starting from September 1, 2026, the Bank of Russia will open a digital wallet-token for everyone who wants to join in operations with digital rubles, both an individual and a legal entity. Formula: "one user - one wallet."

Note that the appearance of digital rubles in circulation will not replace cash and non-cash money. Any citizen or legal entity will be able to use rubles as needed in any of the three above forms. Although over time, the convenience of using the digital ruble will contribute to the fact that the share of payments and settlements in traditional rubles will gradually decrease, giving way to more modern technology.

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