Russian lawmakers have approved a bill that will introduce support for the digital ruble next year and require banks and retailers to implement universal QR codes for payments.
The new law comes after the Bank of Russia proposed a new deadline for the introduction of digital currency in stages, starting in September 2026, following a call from Putin.
Russian parliament passes digital ruble law
Members of the state’s territory, the House of Russia’s parliament, have adopted laws that lay the basis for the introduction of the digital ruble, the central bank digital currency (CBDC) of the Russian Federation.
The latest incarnation of the National Fiat has been in development for quite some time, with pilot projects launched almost two years ago, but a recent broad adoption call from the Russian president has given new driving forces for finalization.
Bill number 811008-8, introduced by a group of agents and senators in December 2024, was approved for the third and final reading at DUMA after a major revision, InterFax News Agency reported Tuesday.
The introduction of universal payment codes, which gradually connects with the digital ruble platform and begins on the same date as next September, is a keystone of the recently voted law.
It is mandatory to provide support for both, banking institutions are obligated to provide clients with the option to perform digital ruble transfers, and the National Payment Card System (NSPK), a QR code operator, is necessary to enable this to be done in a new way.
Digital rubles are required
Russian CBDCs are not introduced at once, but rather in stages. Russia’s largest “systematically important credit institution” must be ready to process the digital ruble transaction on September 1, 2026.
The deadline for small, universal banks is September 1, 2027, with all remaining required to be able to work with digital currencies by September 1, 2028. The date was set by the Russian Central Bank (CBR) after Vladimir Putin urged financial authorities to speed up the process.
The deadline for next year also applies to retailers with annual revenues of more than 120 million rubles (approximately $1.5 million). Merchants with annual revenues exceeding 30 million rubles must begin accepting digital rubles the following year.
September 1, 2028 is the end date for sellers over 20 million rubles per year. The bill exempts this mandatory shop and retail facilities with revenues of less than five million rubles per year without access to the Internet or other communications.
Russia introduces a single QR code for payment
The new law also relates to the implementation of Russia’s universal QR codes for payments. The bank is requesting that transactions can be processed through the new system on September 1, 2026. The regulations are as follows:
“Remittance operators, which are credit institutions or branches of foreign banks that provide clients with electronic payment instruments that allow them to read information in graphic or other formats and to receive links to electronic transfer details, are obligated to provide links to such transfer details using a universal payment code.”
The law prohibits banks and retailers from charging fees for the services of NSPK, a single QR code operator. It also lists the technical requirements of operators and rules for connecting users to the system and generating QR codes.
The obligation to use a universal payment code does not apply to cross-border transfers, the report says, but the digital ruble is seen as a tool that can support Russia’s foreign trade under the heavy sanctions imposed on Ukrainian invasions.
