Saudi Arabia has decided to withdraw from mBridge, an ambitious cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) project backed by China. The decision comes after the completion of a proof-of-concept trial in May 2025, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of international financial infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia's exit from mBridge
The global financial landscape has shifted significantly after Saudi Arabia decided to withdraw from mBridge, according to information revealed by the Financial Times. The country's central bank, known as SAMA, had joined the initiative as a full participant in June 2024. Its primary objective was to explore the capabilities of instant cross-border payments and foreign currency settlement using distributed ledger technology.
The mBridge project was jointly developed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), along with the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Its goal was to transform international payments by enabling direct bilateral transactions without traditional intermediaries such as the SWIFT system.
Despite this withdrawal, Saudi Arabia will continue to assess the impact of emerging technologies on its own national financial system, while the remaining mBridge members continue to move towards large-scale operation of the platform.
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