The Bank of Russia is considering a fundamentally new scenario for the evolution of the digital ruble — accruing interest on balances held in accounts in the new form of the national currency. For citizens, this means the opportunity to earn income from money that today performs an exclusively payment function. At the same time, the regulator is working on a mechanism under which cashback will be paid directly by sellers and manufacturers, and banks will face competition for customers.
Deputy Chairperson of the Bank of Russia Zulfiya Kakhrumanova announced these plans on November 10 at a meeting of the Federation Council. No concrete decisions have been made yet: the issue is under development, and the regulator will come forward with an initiative only if it receives sufficient support.
How the Central Bank could make the digital ruble more profitable
Responding to senators' questions, Kakhrumanova recalled that the digital ruble was initially seen exclusively as a payment instrument. However, the regulator is now closely studying the experience of China, where interest has already been accrued on digital yuan balances since January 1, 2026.
"We are watching global trends and quite recently thought that perhaps it makes sense to think about accruing interest on accounts," the Deputy Chairperson of the Central Bank explained.
If interest is introduced, digital rubles will be able not only to service payments but also to generate income for their owners. Kakhrumanova also noted that citizens turn to the digital ruble mainly out of curiosity, and using it is not yet advantageous. Today cashback is habitually associated with banks, but the new form of money could change this scheme.
The regulator expects that bonuses will come directly from sellers: "We very much hope that the digital ruble will somewhat shift the configuration, and cashbacks will appear directly from manufacturers and trade organizations, for which it will be extremely beneficial to offer such an instrument to people." In her assessment, at the next stage the digital ruble will become useful for people as well.
Kakhrumanova cited statistics: 38 banks have already connected to the platform, 21 of them are among the largest in the payment market. The number of individuals who have opened accounts there has reached 295,000, while legal entities and individual entrepreneurs number about 15,000.
How the digital ruble platform is developing
Connecting to the platform costs small banks considerable money. On October 27, the Central Bank estimated such expenses at 25–31 million rubles, although the banks themselves cited figures of up to 100 million and explained the gap by an incorrect interpretation of the regulator's requirements.
At the same time, the owner of digital rubles is not tied to a specific bank. Alla Bakina, Director of the National Payment System Department at the Bank of Russia, on October 28 compared such an account to a room with several doors leading into it: you can enter through the app of any bank, but only the owner has the keys, and the regulator itself is responsible for the safety of the funds.
Lawmakers, like the Central Bank, are in no hurry with new rules. On October 27, the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes proposed allowing the government to conduct operations with the reserve fund in digital rubles only for 2027, since the practice of using the new form of money still needs to be assessed.
Cryptalist analysis: The transition to interest-bearing CBDCs is a fundamental shift in the economics of digital currencies: money is transforming from a purely payment instrument into a store of value, which could redistribute deposit competition between banks and the central bank. The caution of the Russian regulator and its reliance on the Chinese experience point to a phased implementation model, where the key risk remains the outflow of liquidity from the traditional banking sector. For the market, this is a signal of the long-term institutionalization of CBDCs, but the real effect will not manifest before 2027.