MOSCOW, 9 August 2023. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM_ present the findings of a survey on what the Russians think about the digital ruble’s launch.  

Awareness of a new form of currency

Every seventh Russian is aware that Russia is launching a digital ruble in 2025 (15%); more than half of the Russians have heard about it but do not know any details (55%). Overall, 70% of the respondents are informed about the digital ruble’s launch in Russia. A further 30% heard about that for the first time during the survey.

Although young persons are most advanced in digital technology, the general awareness of the digital ruble’s launch in Russia is higher in older cohorts (50% of the 18-24-year-olds; 61% of the 25-34-year-olds; 69% of the 35-44-year-olds; 77% of the 45-59-year-olds; 76% of those aged 60 +).

What is it for?

According to the survey results, most of the Russians do not have an understanding why the digital ruble is introduced; every second respondent fail to answer the question as to what the digital ruble is needed for (51%). This share is higher among respondents with incomplete secondary education (75%) and active TV viewers (71%). Even though older generations are more informed about the digital ruble, only 37% of them are aware of its purpose (vs. 50% of those aged 18-24).

When it comes to informative answers, positive opinions prevail. The following groups of arguments in favor of the digital ruble can be singled out:  

1. Transparent and safe transactions (22%, including control / possibility to keep track of the flow of funds — 12%, combatting fraud / thievery — 6%, safety/protection / reliability — 4%, etc.);
2. Simplifying the life of users (13%, including convenient form/easier to use — 9%, fast, quick payments — 2%, to be used by entrepreneurs, for transactions, payments — 1%, each);
3. Economic growth/progress (11%, including cutting costs / no need to print paper money — 3%, support, stabilization of economy, development of technologies, integration into to the global economy, stabilization of ruble — 2%, each, etc.);
4. Alternative to other currencies/forms of money (8%, including instead of paper money/ to decrease the circulation of cash — 3%, alternative to cryptocurrency — 2%, additional form of money, instead of foreign currencies — 1%, each).

Only 8% of the Russians have unfavorable views regarding the digital ruble’s launch; they say that the digital ruble is a fraud (3%), control of the population and fooling people (2%, each), and digital slavery (1%).

Desire to use a digital wallet

Due to poor understanding of what the digital ruble is needed for, respondents are reluctant to start using it. According to the July survey, 58% of the Russians are not willing to use it; they are often older generations (79% of those aged 60+). Thirty percent of the respondents show interest in the new form of payment, however 12% are undecided.

The higher the level of education, the higher the interest in the digital ruble is. Forty-two percent of the Russians who consider their income to be above average would like to use the digital ruble (vs. 21% of those who are dissatisfied with their financial income); as to those who have higher education diplomas, 36% of them would like to try this form of ruble (vs. 24-29% of the Russians with secondary special education or lower).

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 30 July, 2023. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

 Key effectiveness indicators, survey of 30 July, 2023:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8168; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0171; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1238. Calculations are based on corporate standard: https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference thatthe number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.