ST PETERSBURG, Russia, July 2 (Reuters) - German Gref,

CEO of Russia's dominant lender Sberbank, on Wednesday

said he did not see any potential benefits to Russia's

development of the digital rouble beyond the possible exception

of cross-border settlements.

Russian banks will be required to offer customers the means

to make payments using digital roubles from September 1, 2026,

the central bank said last week, pushing the project's planned

launch back by over a year.

More than 130 countries are exploring digital versions of

their currencies, according to the Atlantic Council, as the

world's financial authorities respond to declining cash usage

and the threat to their money-printing powers from the likes of

bitcoin.

Moscow hopes the digital rouble will simplify foreign trade

payments that have been complicated by Western sanctions over

the conflict in Ukraine.

"I don't see its advantages," Gref told reporters during a

financial forum in St Petersburg. "As an individual, I don't

understand why digital roubles are needed. As a bank... I don't

yet understand it very well either."

Russian banks already have strong digital finance

capacities, such as cashless settlements, Gref said, reiterating

that he saw no possibility for the digital rouble to

meaningfully transform Russia's economy.

No digital currency has become dominant within any country,

he said, but there could be a future in cross-border

settlements.

"Domestically, I don't see it yet," he said.