The Bank of Russia will launch the first consumer pilot for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) on April 1, 2023, as part of preparations for this day.

According to First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova, the Central Bank of Russia is preparing to launch the first real-world digital ruble transactions very soon. These transactions will include 13 local banks and many retailers.

According to a report by the TASS regional news agency, the official said that the future CBDC pilot would include genuine activities and actual consumers in Russia, but would be restricted to a set number of transactions and customers.

At the Ural Forum on Cybersecurity in Finance, Skorobogatova said that “we expect to start the digital ruble project on April 1 with transactions that include individual transfers, as well as payments in commercial and service organizations.” She went on to say that the financial institutions participating in the pilot had technically shown that they were ready to start testing the digital ruble.

The lieutenant governor clarified that regular consumers would not be allowed to participate in the pilot in the first stage, as banks would start the pilot with selected customers in advance. As Skorobogatova said, when the first stage of the pilot program is completed, the Bank of Russia intends to assess how to further grow the digital ruble.

The most recent statement made by Skorobogatova is in line with the implementation strategy for the digital ruble that was publicly presented by the central bank in June 2022. Due to Western economic sanctions against Russia, the consumer CBDC pilot was delayed until a date that was originally planned for 2024, but was updated earlier because the Russian central bank was looking for an alternative to the SWIFT payment system.

This information comes at a time when some Russian authorities say that the Bank of Russia is examining the possibility of a gold-backed currency that would target international trade. Vladimir Chistyukhin, the first deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, believes that the creation of a “golden token” would help Russia develop a new investment product attractive to investors and a payment mechanism necessary for international settlement.