Moscow- Russia announced the postponement of the launch of the digital ruble until at least 2026, after it was supposed to be launched on July 1 of this year.
According to the Russian Central Bank, the main reason for the postponement decision is that the infrastructure of the digital ruble is not ready and that the major banks have recently joined them and did not have enough time to test the main operations.
The central bank had carried out advertising campaigns and the hours of the range to promote the introduction of digital rubles into trading, but it faced a set of obstacles. Social media in the country witnessed wide discussions of the digital ruble, which demanded the largest part of it to refuse to use this currency and called on the central bank to abandon it.
Among the most intense topics in these discussions is concerns about the possibility of forced asylum to include digital ruble and other concerns related to the security aspects.
In this context, the Russian Center for Public Opinion Research last August presented the results of an opinion poll about the citizens ’position towards the comprehensive entry of the digital ruble, which showed that only little changed in the level of awareness and the desire to” test “the new product, and the number of people who want to learn the nuances of the use of the new currency.
Fraud operations
According to the survey, only 17% of the Russians were able to name the advantages of digital ruble compared to the traditional forms of (cash and non -cash) money and 52% found others difficult to answer, and 31% said that there are no advantages.
With regard to the defects of the new currency, 33% of giving an answer and found 61% difficult to name the weaknesses of the digital ruble, while he did not see 6% of any weaknesses.
Experts note that the weak understanding of the details of the new type of money work is not only evident in the low percentage of objective answers, but also in contradictory arguments in favor of the digital ruble and against it, which prompted the central bank – according to these – to postpone the project.
Besides, the first cases of fraud in digital rubles were recorded at the beginning of this year, and the methods included “fraudulent hunting sites” that offer savings and providing advisory services on digital ruble, random postal messages that offer to buy it at an affordable price, as well as fraud through the phone that offer the conversion of savings into a safe digital account.
The attackers use the topic of digital ruble as a taste, as it offers the target person the ability to obtain “easy money” by entering a “fake page” that has been deluded that many people have already received great profits in the framework of the “program”.
To obtain free access to this program, the person is required to enter his first name, family name, e -mail and a valid phone number on the page, and after pressing the “Free Access” button, the person is allowed to process information related to it.
And if he agrees to become a new use of digital ruble and leave his data, the fraudsters will freely enter his bank data and control his payment data.
The fraudsters are also developing other methods that include the new form of the currency, such as calling people and offer to replace all cash and non -cash money with digital ruble by converting savings into a “safe digital account”.
Advocacy
In the opinion of a specialist in macroeconomic issues, Igor Plenekin, the refusal to deal with digital ruble by large segments of citizens is due to their concerns that the transformation will be forced.
But he explains to Al -Jazeera Net that there is a “counter campaign” that worked to promote these concerns, although the central bank confirmed earlier that opening a digital portfolio will only be independent and voluntary and will not be mandatory or automatic in any case.
With this, the spokesman admits that with the release of digital ruble, the types of fraud and the processes associated with it will grow, which increases the citizens ’lack of enthusiasm for use.
According to him, cybersecurity specialists should focus in particular on pirate groups that have long been specialized in stealing digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
No urgent need
For his part, economic affairs analyst André Zaysif says that the central bank’s decision is logical, especially that it is likely to take into account that the demand for digital ruble and its true value are still in doubt.
He continues, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that the high cost of developing digital rubles and the need to ensure the security of its information is another factor that slows down implementation, not to mention that the citizens’ need for it is still unclear, and that the use of the digital currency may be very complicated for certain groups of the population.
He adds to these factors, erosion of confidence in the central bank and the low demand for this form of money between the population, in addition to the Bank of International Settlements, which occurs repeatedly against the fundamentalist funds and considered it threatening financial stability.
According to him, the central bank’s decision is not only related to the need to complete improvements on the new system, but also because there is no urgent need for it, as there are no critical reasons for launching digital rubles now, as well as its implementation will create possible severe problems, such as the effect of digital ruble on bank liquidity, especially for smaller lending institutions.
He concludes that if there is no significant demand for the use of this currency, the central bank expenses on them may not cover itself completely, and that the (bank) turns into a source of the digital currency may provide it with the possibility of strong competition with market offers from financial services.
