The Bank of Russia has delayed the rollout of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot for an indefinite period, as certain legislation has only passed through the first reading in the Russian Parliament. The number of private banks participating in the pilot has also changed from 15 to 13, and the pilot will involve limited-scale real operations and consumers, with the banks entering the pilot with chosen customers. The CBDC pilot was initially scheduled for 2024 but was moved to an earlier date as the Bank of Russia was looking for an alternative to the SWIFT payments system amid Western economic sanctions against Russia.

(By DAVID ATTLEE)