Half of Russians voice support for public use of new digital ruble – poll

One in every two Russians, according to the latest poll, will welcome the use of the digital ruble – the new form of national currency that is currently under development by the country’s central bank.

At the same time, every fifth respondent indicated they are adamantly opposed to the new form of money, which is set to coexist with cash and non-cash rubles.A concept for the digital ruble was presented by the Bank of Russia earlier this week.

The regulator said that the prototype would be created by the end of the year. The digital ruble will be issued by the regulator, and will be backed by traditional money, thus eliminating risks.

“The data of the business school shows that 14% of respondents will definitely use the digital ruble,” the Skolkovo Centre for Research in Financial Technologies and Digital Economy, which carried out the survey, said.

According to the report, 36% of people polled said ‘rather yes,’ when responding to the question, whether they want to use the digital ruble.

“Only 38% of respondents spoke against the new form of national currency, with only 22% flatly refusing to use the digital ruble,” the survey revealed.

Strong demand for the new product mostly results from Russians’ commitment to innovations in the sphere of digital, according to Egor Krivosheya, head of research at the center.

“Various surveys show that our country is currently among the leading ones when it comes to the penetration of financial innovations, with the share of people who use advanced solutions, like mobile banking or contactless payments, totaling up to 80%,” he said.

The analyst added that some Russians still don’t want to use new payment tools, mostly by force of habit as well as due to lack of trust in technology and the banking system.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section