Saudi Arabia’s 2025 exit leaves mBridge without a major oil exporter
Saudi Arabia left mBridge after a 2025 trial, the FT reports. Who remains in the digital currency project, and what does the exit mean for Gulf payments?
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Saudi Arabia’s central bank left the mBridge cross-border payments project in 2025, financial news site Traders Union reported, citing the Financial Times.
Traders Union cited the bank as saying it had completed its proof-of-concept trial on May 13, 2025, and was no longer a participating member after that date. The bank described the trial as part of its research into central bank digital currencies.
The Saudi Central Bank announced in June 2024 that it was joining an early version of mBridge to explore cross-border payments between commercial banks.
How mBridge works
The platform lets banks in different jurisdictions make payments and exchange currencies on a shared ledger, using digital currencies issued by central banks. It aims to reduce the fees and delays that can arise when payments pass through a chain of intermediary banks, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
A pilot involving real money took place in 2022. The project reached the minimum viable product stage in June 2024, when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said early users’ feedback would help refine the platform before a full launch.
The BIS announced in October 2024 that it was handing the project over to its partners.
Macao banks begin using the platform
The Monetary Authority of Macao joined mBridge in early 2026. Banks there began using the system on June 2, according to the authority’s announcement the following day.
Eleven banks were initially approved to use the platform. Three completed 23 cross-border transactions on the opening day, worth nearly 1.3 billion Macao patacas in total. The payments involved mainland China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, covering trade settlement and cross-border remittances.
Those transactions took place more than a year after the reported Saudi departure. The Traders Union report did not identify the Saudi banks involved or disclose their transaction volumes, leaving the effect of the withdrawal on mBridge’s business unclear.
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