As the Central Bank tries to expand the scope of its CBDC initiative, Russian fintech companies have started to participate in the nation’s digital currency pilot.
The Central Bank and its banking partners will receive assistance from SimbirSoft and Sinara Lab in order to “implement the digital ruble software products in online and mobile banking applications,” according Report
Digital Ruble Pilot Acquires Russian Fintech Startups
This move seems to suggest that Moscow is trying to emulate the CBDC strategy of the Chinese central bank.
The digital yuan has been effectively incorporated into neobanking companies’ and various state-owned banks’ banking platforms.
An IT division of the Sinara banking group, Sinara Lab focuses on fintech. Its clientele includes Gazenergobank, Sinara Bank, and the SME-focused Delobank.
One of the 11 Russian cities now experimenting with the CBDC is Yekaterinburg, where the company has its headquarters.
It mostly concentrates on online banking platforms. On “integrating” bank apps with the digital ruble, however, it will collaborate with the Central Bank.
In contrast, SimbrSoft’s headquarters are in Ulyanovsk. It is an app development specialist that has created mobile applications for companies in the financial sector.
Early clients of the company included the Bank of Japan, the central bank of Japan.
Given that Russian fintech companies are part of the CBDC trial, it is possible that the Central Bank is considering creating an app of its own for the virtual RUB.
Moscow might be seeking to introduce a digital yuan app similar to the one that the People’s Bank of China just released.
Russian Companies Want to Be a Part of the CBDC Pilot
Officials from the companies asserted that their current priority was the adoption of CBDCs in the private sector.
Officials from Sinara Lab asserted that banks can reduce their adoption timelines “from an average of 6-9 to 2-4 months” by utilizing their digital ruble adoption technologies.
Chief Operating Officer of SimbirSoft Dmitry Peterson announced a partnership between his company and Sinara Lab. He clarified:
“Adopting the digital ruble is a technically complex project for any bank. Banks need to build protocols in accordance with the requirements of the Central Bank.”
“As part of this partnership, we will help Sinara Lab […] to achieve a common goal – the effective implementation of the digital ruble in the [Russian] banking sector.” Peterson said in closing.
The Central Bank said in February that 17 additional banks would participate in the pilot’s “second phase,” with a national rollout planned for 2025.