Which Businesses Are Required to Accept the Digital Ruble From September

The digital form of the national currency is moving beyond its limited pilot phase and becoming mandatory for part of the business community. From 1 September, large sellers dealing with consumers must give customers the option of paying in digital rubles alongside conventional payment methods.

Who is covered by the new requirement

The new obligation applies where two conditions are met at the same time: the company’s or entrepreneur’s revenue from the sale of goods, works or services for the previous calendar year exceeded a set threshold, and as of the start of the current year the business already had an agreement in place for accepting electronic payment instruments with one of the largest banks. A standard settlement account is not enough to trigger the obligation – the regulator specifically looks at the acquiring agreement.

• revenue for the preceding year exceeds 120 million rubles;
• an acquiring agreement with a systemically important bank is in place as of 1 January of the current year;
• the rule applies only to transactions with individuals – businesses that deal exclusively with legal entities are not covered.

Certain retail outlets are exempt from the requirement – where their annual revenue does not exceed 5 million rubles, or where the outlet is located in an area without access to mobile or internet connectivity. The exemption is assessed separately for each point of sale, so a large company may not need to enable digital ruble payments at one small store while remaining obligated to do so across the rest of its network.

How the rules have evolved

The digital currency project initially launched as a limited pilot involving a narrow circle of participating banks and voluntary business enrolment. As the platform’s functionality expanded – transfers, digital wallets, payment for goods – the regulator moved to a mandatory phase for systemically important banks and their largest clients.

The rollout is staged: the next, considerably lower revenue threshold that will trigger mandatory enrolment takes effect a year from now, with the obligation extending to a substantially broader range of sellers the year after that. Businesses with total annual revenue below a set minimum remain outside the mandatory scope altogether.

How payments are technically processed

Payments are made via a universal payment QR code that combines several payment methods – the fast payment system, banking services, instalment plans, and the digital ruble. The customer selects the preferred option in their banking app, and funds are credited to the seller in real time.

For most sellers, replacing checkout equipment will not be necessary – updating the terminal software and enabling QR code acceptance should suffice. Even so, experts recommend confirming equipment readiness in advance with the servicing bank, the checkout software provider and the acquiring operator, and running test transactions before the mandatory deadline arrives.

Liability and what this means for business

A seller that meets the criteria but has not enabled the technical means to accept payment, or refuses to process such a payment, faces an administrative fine for each recorded violation. Recording these new transactions in accounting is a further complication – practice on how to treat them is still developing, and early mistakes are likely.

Companies not yet within the mandatory scope would do well to look ahead: the revenue thresholds will be lowered over the next two years, gradually drawing mid-sized and part of the small-business sector into the regulatory perimeter. It makes sense to review existing agreements with servicing banks and audit payment and checkout infrastructure now, rather than facing a rushed adjustment under threat of a fine later.