Russia’s Finance Ministry paid some of its employees in digital rubles for the first time on Oct. 1, putting the central bank digital currency into routine government payroll one month after the country’s large-scale national rollout, according to Cointribune.
Crypto.news reported that participating employees opened digital ruble accounts on the Bank of Russia’s platform before receiving their wages. The ministry did not disclose how many employees took part or the total value of the payments, and receiving salary in the CBDC remains optional. Workers may still be paid in cash, by bank transfer or on a Mir card.
Key facts
- The Oct. 1 salary payments followed roughly 16 million digital rubles used during 2025 federal budget trials covering selected salaries, stipends and government contracts.
- Payroll transfers carry no platform charge through the end of 2026; from Jan. 1, 2027, the Bank of Russia’s published tariff schedule provides compensation of 67 kopecks per completed payroll instruction, with a minimum per payment register.
- Ten days after the Sept. 1 national opening, 87,000 digital ruble accounts had been created and more than 50,000 transactions completed.
- Individuals can move up to 300,000 rubles per month from ordinary bank accounts into a digital ruble account, per Crypto.news; businesses face no equivalent top-up limit.
- MTS, Rostelecom and MegaFon prepared payment infrastructure for the Sept. 1 launch, alongside retailers including Wildberries and Ozon.
Cointribune reported that the Bank of Russia set the tariff rules allowing companies and organizations to pay salaries in digital rubles in June. Crypto.news dates that board decision to June 19 and says it introduced platform tariffs specifically covering transfers from companies to individuals for salaries and other employment-related payments. Cointribune frames the per-order fee as one ruble from January 2027 with a minimum of 15 rubles per register, while Crypto.news describes it as compensation of 67 kopecks per completed payroll instruction subject to a minimum amount per register.
Budget payments expand before payroll
The payroll step rests on infrastructure already used for public spending. During 2025, the Finance Ministry and Federal Treasury ran nearly 16 million rubles in digital currency through trial transactions, testing whether the central bank’s platform could handle public spending before the system moved into regular government use. Budget access widened from January 2026, when federal state-owned, budget-funded and autonomous institutions gained access to digital rubles for eligible spending, according to the Finance Ministry’s Oct. 2 announcement cited by Crypto.news. Since September, the Federal Treasury can make certain transfers to individuals or companies at a 0% charge, Cointribune reported.
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Cointribune notes the digital ruble functions as a third form of Russian currency alongside cash and money held in bank accounts, and is not a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Accounts are accessible through participating banks, but the units exist on the central bank’s infrastructure. One digital ruble carries the same face value as one cash or conventional bank-account ruble, per Crypto.news.
Why it matters
Payroll is the point where a CBDC stops being a pilot and becomes part of the state’s ordinary machinery. The change affects Finance Ministry staff first, but the same rail is designed for companies and organizations that choose to use it. It also sharpens the line Moscow draws between central bank money and crypto: Russia’s regulated digital-asset framework took effect on the same Sept. 1 date as the CBDC rollout, yet crypto payments remain banned for ordinary purchases inside the country while some international uses are allowed.
Adoption signals remain mixed. Shortly before the launch, Sber’s chief financial officer Taras Skvortsov said the bank did not observe clear demand from individuals, businesses or financial institutions. The project also faces external restriction: in April, the Council of the EU adopted a sanctions package that included a ban on EU support for developing the digital ruble and targeted Russian crypto platforms and RUBx transactions.
What to watch
The next stage of Russia’s phased rollout is scheduled for Sept. 1, 2027, when banks with universal licenses and qualifying merchants with revenue above 30 million rubles are due to join, followed by a further stage in September 2028 for banks with basic licenses. The January 2027 tariff change is the other near-term marker. Separately, Russian and Indian officials have discussed using CBDCs in bilateral trade settlement, but no operational Russia-India network had been announced.
Reported by cointribune.com.
Sources: Cointribune, Crypto.news