The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has officially concluded its participation in the mBridge cross-border payment platform, a significant initiative leveraging distributed-ledger technology (DLT) for wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). SAMA announced its exit following the successful completion of its proof-of-concept trial, as reported on May 13, 2025.
The mBridge project, initially developed by the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, aims to facilitate faster, more efficient, and less costly international payments by allowing financial institutions to conduct direct cross-border transactions using digital versions of participating currencies.
SAMA joined the mBridge initiative as a full participant in June 2024 to explore the potential of wholesale CBDCs in enhancing international payments and commercial bank settlements. While SAMA's official statement points to the completion of its technical assessment as the reason for its departure, its exit comes amidst broader discussions around the governance and compliance frameworks of such platforms.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which was also involved in the initial stages, announced its 'graduation' from the project in October 2024, indicating that participating central banks were capable of continuing independent development.
Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from the China-backed platform occurs within a wider geopolitical context of global experimentation with alternative payment infrastructures. This includes the development of China's digital yuan, which seeks to enable transactions independent of traditional correspondent-banking networks. The move has drawn heightened geopolitical scrutiny surrounding payment systems not reliant on the US dollar.
With foundational technical experience gained from the mBridge proof-of-concept, SAMA is expected to continue building out its domestic payments infrastructure under its comprehensive financial-sector development program, while the mBridge platform proceeds with its remaining core participants.