diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8ee0b8f0a..8ddf84ca9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -366,6 +366,9 @@ jobs:
           SENTRY_PROJECT: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/release') && vars.SENTRY_PROJECT || ''}}
           SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT: 'smoke-tests'
           WALLET_POLLING_INTERVAL_IN_SEC: 5
+          # Do not instantiate the real PubNub service. Use the test API instead which allows us to inject notifications and topics directly.
+          # This is important also because it will reduce the PubNub usage that would be generated by e2e tests if tests ran against the real PubNub service.
+          NOTIFICATION_CENTER_MODE: test
           PUBNUB_SUBSCRIBE_KEY: ${{ secrets.PUBNUB_SUBSCRIBE_KEY }}
 
       - name: Upload build artifact