Large companies and systemically important banks will have to support it, while digital asset payments remain banned
From 1 September 2026, major Russian telecommunications operators and e-commerce platforms will begin accepting the digital ruble. The companies named include MTS, Rostelecom, MegaFon, Wildberries and Ozon.
Under legislation that entered into force in July 2025, merchants with annual gross revenue above 120 million rubles will have to accept payments in digital rubles. The threshold will fall to 30 million rubles from September 2027, while other businesses will have to comply from September 2028.
All 12 systemically important Russian banks, including Sber, VTB and Alfa-Bank, will also have to support the currency from launch. Individuals will be able to access wallets through existing banking apps; the central bank plans to set a monthly top-up limit of 300,000 rubles per bank.
Direct payments in Bitcoin for goods and services remain banned.
