The Central Bank and 12 Russian banks have started testing a digital ruble platform, Vedomosti reports, citing the regulator’s press service.

“Now three banks from the pilot group have already connected to the platform. Two of them have successfully conducted a full cycle of operations on transferring digital rubles between clients using banking mobile applications,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

As part of the testing, the first customers opened digital wallets on the digital ruble platform via a mobile application and successfully exchanged rubles from their accounts to digital rubles and then conducted digital ruble-to-digital transfer transactions between themselves.

According to the Central Bank, the remaining nine banks plan to join the testing of the platform as they finalize improvements to their IT systems.

“We plan that for citizens transfers in digital rubles will be free and available in any region of the country, and for businesses it will reduce costs and create opportunities for the development of innovative products and services. The state will get a new tool for targeted payments and administration of budget payments,” said Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.

The full-fledged launch of the digital ruble, which will become the third form of money in addition to the existing cash and non-cash money, will take place by 2030. Such a term is specified in the Strategy for the Development of the Financial Market until 2030 developed by the Ministry of Finance.