iPhone Owners Will Be Unable to Use the Digital Ruble — Vedomosti

iPhone owners will be unable to access wallets for the digital ruble because they will not be able to update Russian bank applications in the App Store due to sanctions, writes Vedomosti, citing the banks themselves.

The Bank of Russia’s website states that iOS device owners will be able to use the digital ruble only if they have an up-to-date version of a bank application with the corresponding functionality. According to the newspaper, banks will not be able to upload updated versions of applications supporting the digital ruble to the App Store until September 1. In addition to sanctions, there is another reason: the Bank of Russia’s requirements for cryptographic protection tools and the specific features of the digital ruble platform’s infrastructure. Applications must use Russian cryptographic standards, connect to special domains, and access the Central Bank’s API. For Apple, these elements serve as markers indicating affiliation with Russia’s state financial infrastructure, Vedomosti explained. Certified solutions for Android already exist.

Apple analyzes not only the code but also the origin of the build—which Apple IDs and cryptographic keys were used, which device was used for development, and what network requests the application makes, explained Dmitry Yentin, head of the development department at IT company EvApps. If signs of a sanctioned bank are detected, the application is blocked, and sometimes the entire developer account is blocked as well. The problem can be solved using “guerrilla applications,” but such clones typically remain in the Apple marketplace for no more than a few days, or even hours, the expert emphasized.

Alternative options remain for iPhone users, experts told Vedomosti. Some banks have implemented digital ruble functionality in web interfaces. However, VTB, RSHB, and Rossiya Bank stated to journalists that the digital ruble is available only in their Android applications and nowhere else.

Starting September 1, 12 banks recognized by the Central Bank as systemically important must provide access to the digital ruble. These include the largest credit institutions: Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, Gazprombank, and Promsvyazbank. The wallet for the digital ruble must be integrated not into a separate application (for example, from a third-party developer or the Central Bank itself), but into a section within the bank’s application.

All major Russian companies are required to start accepting digital rubles for payment from September. The launch of the service was announced by telecommunications operators and marketplaces.