Putin announced that more than 80% of Russia's settlements are made in non-cash form

Over 80% of payments in Russia are made in non-cash format. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 4 at the plenary session of the VTB forum "Russia Calling!".

"More than 80% of settlements for goods and services in our economy are carried out in cashless form. At the same time, the Bank of Russia is gradually introducing the digital ruble. Within the framework of the pilot project, replenishment of funds and transfer of digital rubles between individuals and legal entities have been worked out," the head of state said.

He noted that more than 9 thousand citizens and 1,200 companies have joined the project, and the number of participants continues to grow.

Putin said that the digital version of the national currency of the Russian Federation will be used for budget settlements from next year. In addition, the use of the digital ruble from July 1, 2025 should be available throughout the country.

The President pointed out that Russia continues to create infrastructure for convenient use of the digital ruble in international settlements. Such transactions should become more comfortable for business and bring less costs. In addition, there is a plan to introduce an experimental legal regime, under which banks will be able to develop ways to remotely identify customers. It is important that this does not create risks within the framework of the anti-money laundering legislation.

The head of state stressed that the level of digitalization of Russia's financial sector now exceeds the global level. As Putin pointed out, this confirms that the country's economy is highly technologically advanced in this area, its aspiration to the future, its ability to work ahead of the curve and set big goals. The President cited experts' estimates, according to which the introduction of national digital infrastructure in the financial sector will become one of the main factors of global growth in the long term.

Earlier, on November 25, Capital Lab partner Evgeny Shatov told Izvestia that the advantage of the digital ruble is that it allows to make transactions instantly without physical transfer of money or delays that are possible with bank transfers. In addition, the digital version of Russia's national currency will be able to make settlements between citizens and companies easier and safer. The expert noted that in the future it will be possible to use the digital ruble without connecting to the Internet.

Before that, in October, the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CB) Elvira Nabiullina said in response to a question from Izvestia that systemically important banks that do not connect to the pilot project of the digital ruble will receive fines. The Chairman of the regulator said that the first stage of mass application of the digital ruble will begin on July 1, 2025. Services with the new form of national currency will be mandatory for all banks, but customers will be able to perform transactions with the digital ruble at will.