The Russian government has started paying salaries in digital rubles.

On October 1, employees of the Russian Ministry of Finance received their salaries in digital rubles for the first time. The Ministry clarified that this did not apply to the entire workforce, though it did not specify the exact number of employees receiving their pay in this third form of the national currency.

To receive digital rubles, employees open accounts on the Bank of Russia’s platform themselves, the government reported. The Ministry of Finance emphasized that no one is being forced to accept their salary in digital rubles; the process is entirely voluntary.

Until now, salary payments to civil servants and public sector employees using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) had been conducted only on a trial basis. These tests, carried out by the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Treasury, began last year. In addition to salaries, the state used the currency for trial payments of student stipends and certain government contract settlements.

The total volume of such transactions in 2025 amounted to nearly 16 million rubles, the Ministry stated.

Since September 1 of this year, major banks and large retail chains have been required to provide their customers with the infrastructure needed for transfers and payments using digital rubles.

Since January, there have been no limits on federal budget expenditures in digital rubles, and federal state-owned, budgetary, and autonomous institutions are permitted to use them for settlements. All federal budgetary and autonomous institutions are required to accept payments in digital rubles, and the CBDC can be used for payments to the budget.

Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to provide Russians with more detailed information regarding the benefits of the digital ruble. Previously, Central Bank Deputy Governor Zulfiya Kakhrumanova announced plans to allow cash withdrawals from digital ruble online wallets directly at ATMs.