10-26-2026 
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TL;DR: Russia’s digital ruble opened strong, with over 220,000 accounts in its first month, triple the central bank’s target. But surveys point to weak engagement, and big banks like Sberbank expect little real impact. Meanwhile, a new investigation reveals how the sanctioned A7 Network moved hundreds of tons of cash rubles through Russian markets and a state-owned bank to pay overseas recipients, mostly in China.
Key Takeaways:
- The digital ruble drew strong initial interest, but low engagement among account holders and skepticism from leading banks suggest its everyday role may stay small.
- A7 Network built a hawala-style cash pipeline that processed at least 283 tons of rubles (over $14 billion) in under a year, obscuring the origin of funds from nearly every bank in the chain except Promsvyazbank and A7 itself.
Russia’s digital ruble charged out of the gate in terms of the number of new accounts, but account holder surveys suggest the path ahead just gets rockier.
On September 1, Russia joined the ranks of the handful of nations that have introduced a central bank digital currency (CBDC) via its launch of the digital ruble. Earlier this month, Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Zulfiya Kakhrumanova told Reuters that over 220,000 accounts had been opened in the first month, more than triple the bank’s expectation.
That’s probably a more enthusiastic response that Russia’s private banks expected. The day before the launch, Taras Skvortsov, deputy chairman/CFO of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, told the Tass news agency that “I don’t see any clear interest in this instrument beyond the Central Bank: neither from other market participants, nor from private or corporate clients, nor from financial institutions that would actively encourage the use of the digital ruble.”
Skvortsov’s views mirror those of the Russian public, as recent surveys have shown few Russians understand what the digital ruble is, and even the few who do aren’t sure why it’s needed when other digital payment options abound.
Skvortsov hedged his pessimistic bet by saying Sber was “ready for mass implementation” of the CBDC “but in my opinion, its share will, at best, be measured in tenths of a percent of turnover and won’t have a significant impact.” Skvortsov said his bank would reassess the digital ruble’s appeal by year’s end.
Interestingly, Skvortsov appeared to echo the concerns of U.S. bankers regarding ‘mass deposit flight’ from the adoption of private dollar-backed stablecoins. Skvortsov said digital rubles mean actual cash is “leaving the economy, remaining isolated in the central bank’s accounts.”
Regardless, Skvortsov viewed the long-delayed launch as a positive in the sense that its impact will now be measurable. For too long, the digital ruble has been the ‘elephant in the room,’ for Russian bankers, but now “it will come to light, and we’ll see who’s happy about this elephant.”
Russian media reported this week on a new survey by the VTB bank that found over one-third (35%) of Russians who’d opened a digital ruble account had yet to do anything with their account. The most popular reason for opening accounts was curiosity (42%), followed by the ease of doing so via VTB’s app (36%), free transfers (33%), while 21% said they’d done so at a friend’s recommendation.
Among those who’d actually transacted with digital rubles, the largest slice went to money transfers (28%), followed by government payments, including utility bills and taxes (24%), with online purchases not far back at 23%.
As for what would motivate Russians to more regularly use the digital ruble, cashbacks and discounts got the biggest slice (54%), followed by a wider variety of stores accepting the token (42%) and the ability to use it offline (38%). That latter stat likely has something to do with the ongoing disruptions to Russian internet services following Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s data center infrastructure.
Russia currently requires larger merchants to offer options to pay with digital rubles, but the annual revenue benchmark for this requirement is set to shrink on the first anniversary of the digital ruble’s introduction. And by September 1, 2028, all merchants with annual revenue over RUB5 million (US$61,000) will be required to accept digital rubles, assuming internet access is available.
Bank of Russia Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin said this month that offline access to the digital ruble will be key to mass acceptance with Russians. That applies particularly to those who reside outside major cities, who still rely on cash for many transactions. Russia has hinted at plans to allow digital ruble holders to withdraw cash from ATMs, but there’s no timeline for when this might occur.
There’s no question that Russia’s government is keen to boost the digital ruble’s adoption, announcing on October 2 that “several” employees of the Ministry of Finance had begun receiving their salaries via the CBDC. The ministry noted that all Russians have the option to receive their wages in digital rubles, adding that the ministry is working with the Bank of Russia to “introduce the digital ruble into the budget process.”
This week saw Russia’s State Duma advance a bill that would tighten oversight of digital ruble transactions involving foreign currencies, foreign partners, and international accounts. If it becomes law, the bill would allow the Bank of Russia to vet who gets permission to conduct external transactions with the CBDC via authorized commercial banks.
A7 having tons of fun with (literal) tons of cash
Transacting abroad with digital rubles will be complicated for reasons beyond Russia’s control, as the European Union banned transactions with the CBDC as part of its 20th package of economic sanctions against Russia following the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The EU has also imposed sanctions against the A7 Network, the shadowy payments operation co-owned by a Russian state-owned bank, as well as on A7A5, the network’s ruble-backed stablecoin. The EU isn’t alone in dropping ban-hammers on A7, with the U.K. and the U.S. also targeting the network, its stablecoin, and the crypto platforms that facilitate A7A5 transfers.
A new report by the International Consortium of Independent Journalists (ICIJ) is shedding new light on the mechanics behind the A7 Network. But the report, a co-venture of the ICIJ and independent Russian media outlet Proekt, doesn’t concentrate on A7A5, focusing instead on A7’s habit of handling hundreds of tons of paper rubles.
Prior to the imposition of Western economic sanctions, an informal system converted rubles into conventional bank transfers using the SWIFT messaging network, most of which were bound for China. But the sanctions gave many Chinese banks pause regarding their links to Russia, requiring a new system.
The report details how teams of A7 agents have established their presence in Russian wholesale markets, including Moscow’s Sadovod market, to collect bags of paper rubles from unaffiliated individuals/entities. The A7 agents serve as informal payment brokers, converting the cash they receive into payment orders for the individuals/entities outside Russia that the guys with the cash bags want to pay.
The cash collected by the A7 agents is transferred to a processing office where it’s counted, bundled, and sent to state-owned Promsvyazbank (PSB). The bank co-owns A7 along with the Kyrgyzstan-based company that issues the A7A5 token. PSB banks the cash and credits in A7 accounts.
A7 then directs one of a network of shell companies based outside Russia to pay the intended recipient, “often a Chinese exporter, at another bank outside Russia.” According to an anti-money laundering expert, this system, which resembles the informal hawala system, ensures that “the only bank that sees [where the funds come from] is Promsvyazbank. And the only company that sees everything is A7 itself.”
Most of the funds from markets like Sadovod are directed to be paid into accounts at major Chinese banks. Zachary Tvarozna, who co-authored an A7 report released in June, said that “by the time [an A7 payment] is received, nobody in the chain, from the U.S. clearing bank to the Chinese supplier, knows where it came from.”
The ICIJ says that between the A7 Network’s launch in November 2024 and July 2025, A7 processed “at least” 283 tons of cash rubles worth more than $14 billion. At its peak last summer, A7 was moving 58 tons of paper rubles per month.
At a Moscow banking conference in September, a Bank of Russia official said it was no secret that cash funds “of unknown origin … primarily come from wholesale and retail markets, mostly in Moscow, and illegal crypto exchanges.”
A7 recently raised eyebrows with a new SWIFT-based cross-border payment system in which customers send A7 sums in Tether’s USDT stablecoin, after which A7 International converts it into cash and transfers it to the intended recipient in dollars, euros, renminbi, or dirhams. No word on whether recipients get a discount if they supply their own bag.
FAQs
How successful has the digital ruble’s launch been so far?
It launched September 1, and the Bank of Russia reported more than 220,000 accounts opened in the first month, over three times its expectation. However, openers were mostly motivated by curiosity (42%) or app convenience (36%), and many have not used their accounts.
What would get Russians to use the digital ruble more?
In VTB’s survey, cashbacks and discounts topped the list (54%), followed by more stores accepting it (42%) and offline use (38%). Officials agree that offline access is key, especially outside major cities where cash is still common. Plans to allow ATM cash withdrawals have been floated, but there is no timeline.
How is the government pushing adoption, and what are the limits abroad?
Larger merchants are already required to accept digital ruble payments, with the mandate extending to all merchants earning more than RUB5 million (about $61,000) annually by September 1, 2028, provided they have internet access. Some Ministry of Finance employees are also now receiving their salaries in digital rubles. Meanwhile, a bill before the Duma would give the Bank of Russia authority to vet foreign-currency and international transactions. Outside Russia, the EU has banned transactions involving the digital ruble under its 20th sanctions package.
How does the A7 Network work, and why does it matter?
A7 agents collect bags of paper rubles from wholesale markets such as Moscow’s Sadovod, and the cash is counted and delivered to state-owned Promsvyazbank, which co-owns A7. A7 then has overseas shell companies pay the intended recipients, often Chinese exporters. Because only the bank and A7 see the full picture, the source of funds becomes untraceable to others. The EU, U.K., and the U.S. have sanctioned A7 and its A7A5 stablecoin, and A7 has now added a USDT-based cross-border payment service.
Watch: CBDC applications beyond digital money
