Russian fintech companies have commenced participation in the country’s digital ruble pilot program as the Central Bank of Russia seeks to broaden the scope of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative.

According to reports from the Russian media outlet Cnews, SimbirSoft and Sinara Lab have been enlisted to assist the Central Bank and its banking partners in implementing digital ruble software products within online and mobile banking applications.

This move suggests that Moscow may be drawing inspiration from the Chinese central bank’s CBDC strategy, which has successfully integrated the digital yuan with the banking platforms of various state-owned banks and neobanking firms.

Sinara Lab, a fintech-focused IT subsidiary of the Sinara banking group headquartered in Yekaterinburg, is among the firms involved.

It specializes in remote banking systems and will collaborate with the Central Bank to integrate bank applications with the digital ruble.

SimbirSoft, headquartered in Ulyanovsk, specializes in app development and has a history of working with financial industry firms, including the Bank of Japan.

The involvement of Russian fintech firms in the CBDC pilot suggests that the Central Bank may be exploring the development of its own app for the digital ruble, similar to the digital yuan app launched by the People’s Bank of China.

While officials from the participating firms indicated their focus on private-sector CBDC adoption, they also highlighted the potential for their digital ruble adoption products to streamline the implementation process for banks.

Sinara Lab officials claimed that their products could reduce adoption timeframes for banks from 6-9 months to 2-4 months.

Dmitry Peterson, Chief Operating Officer of SimbirSoft, stated that his firm would collaborate with Sinara Lab to assist in the effective implementation of the digital ruble in the Russian banking sector.

The Central Bank announced in February that 17 additional banks would join the “second phase” of the pilot, with a nationwide rollout of the digital ruble scheduled for 2025.