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On June 22, 2026, the Bank of Russia announced it will conduct annual assessments of the digitalization and convenience of payment services across the Russian payment market. This marks the first time the central bank has evaluated citizen and business satisfaction with payment services and calculated a digitalization index for the national payment system. The Bank of Russia developed a digitalization index as a comprehensive indicator of payment market development, incorporating 15 components including the penetration of new technologies, business interest in their adoption, the range and accessibility of payment services, and the security and reliability of infrastructure. The index uses data from market participants and results from business surveys. The 2025 index value will serve as the baseline for measuring annual changes in the payment market. Satisfaction assessments reveal that citizens are generally satisfied with modern payment services and instruments, particularly valuing fast and seamless payment methods requiring minimal actions. However, citizens identified utility bill payments, educational services, and government services payments as insufficiently convenient, as these require entering full card details and confirming transactions with codes. Business satisfaction ratings proved more reserved, with settlement and cash services receiving relatively low satisfaction scores. Businesses cited unclear tariff policies, opaque bank criteria for blocking or restricting transfers, and difficulties making payments to foreign counterparties as key concerns. The Bank of Russia plans to discuss these findings with market participants to develop measures aimed at improving service convenience and quality, and enhancing transparency of conditions for both citizens and businesses. These annual assessments will supplement existing payment market indicators including the share of cashless payments in retail turnover and alternative payment methods.