The State Duma rejected a full transition to the payment of salaries in digital rubles

In Russia, there are no plans for mandatory transfer of salary payments exclusively in digital rubles. We are talking about giving citizens and employers the opportunity to choose between several payment formats. Anton Tkachev, first deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, told Izvestia on November 11.

According to him, the competition between different forms of money will become an incentive to improve the quality and convenience of financial services.

The parliamentarian drew attention to the fact that the digital ruble has a number of advantages over traditional payment methods.

"First of all, the use of the digital ruble is transparency and protection from "gray" schemes, and this is a key advantage of the entire technology. This means that these are fair conditions for all employees and for all conscientious employers. It is also an instant payroll without reference to the working hours of banks. This means that the salary will always arrive on time, regardless of holidays and the work calendar. For businesses, it means lower operating costs and the potential for investment and scaling," the deputy said.

At the same time, according to him, the introduction of the digital ruble can reveal the so-called digital gap between citizens with different levels of digital skills. It is important to keep the option of choosing the format of receiving a salary — in cash, on a bank card or in digital rubles. Tkachev stressed that the government should reduce this gap through programs to improve the digital literacy of the population.

The parliamentarian clarified that large-scale educational work will be required for the successful implementation of the technology. Thus, it is necessary to create competence centers based on banks, public organizations and large employers, as well as to include modules on digital financial literacy in the programs of universities, colleges and employment centers.

"And only in this way, through constant and comprehensive information and educational work, we will be able not only to teach how to use the digital ruble, but also to make it a priority in the eyes of citizens," the deputy concluded.

Aerobatics: the authorities will test the payment of subsidies to companies in digital rubles

How will this help to better track what budget money is spent on?

On November 1, the press service of the Central Bank of Russia announced that the transfer of rubles to digital form would not lead to a change in the total amount of money in the Russian economy. It is noted that when converting cash into digital rubles, money is first credited to a bank account, and then transferred to a digital wallet on the Central Bank's platform.

On October 30, the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the digital ruble would provide an opportunity to track in the budget what the money was spent on. According to her, the Bank of Russia has already started piloting the digital ruble in capital construction.

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