Over recent decades, significant changes have taken place in the payments sector all over the world, including Russia. There is growing demand from households and businesses to improve the speed, convenience and safety of payments and transfers, as well as for cost reduction in the financial sphere. In response to this demand and to facilitate the digitalisation of the financial market, the Bank of Russia systematically implements such infrastructure projects as the Faster Payments System, the Unified Biometric System, the Digital Profile, and the ‘Know Your Customer’ platform. At the same time, the development of the digital economy requires the seamless interaction of digital services of businesses and the state, as well as the further digitalisation of the payment infrastructure. In line with the regulators of other countries, the Bank of Russia is actively exploring the possibility of implementing a digital national currency - a digital ruble. A digital ruble will be issued by the Bank of Russia. It will be the third form of the Russian national currency and will be used alongside cash and non-cash rubles. Along with the properties of traditional cash and non-cash money, a digital ruble will have additional advantages that increase its attractiveness as a means of payment. A digital ruble will allow households and businesses to have access to their electronic wallets through any financial institution where they are serviced. Additionally, a digital ruble will provide for transactions without access to the Internet (in the offline mode). In the context of the implementation of digital national currencies in other countries, the introduction of a digital ruble is gaining special relevance as a factor for ensuring the competitiveness of the Russian economy by reducing transaction costs and digitalising payment services.