SAMA: Participation in mBridge CBDC project ended in 2025

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) headquarter

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) said its participation in the mBridge CBDC for financial institutions ended in 2025, without joining its subsequent phases.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, SAMA said it completed the proof-of-concept (PoC) trial on May 13, 2025. The trial was conducted in a test environment without any real financial transactions, in line with the planned scope of its participation in the project.

Upon completion of the trial, SAMA’s participation in the project ended, and it did not join any subsequent phases.

SAMA explained that it joined the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) mBridge project as an observer member on June 11, 2023, alongside more than 25 central banks and other international organizations, including the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank.

On June 5, 2024, SAMA became a participant in the project within a limited scope to conduct a PoC trial. The trial serves as a practical test of the feasibility of the concept and technology, in addition to testing a minimum viable product (MVP), which is the initial version of the platform containing its core functions.

During the trial, the platform’s functions were examined to assess the feasibility of using wholesale central bank digital currencies to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments and settlement operations between commercial banks.

SAMA said the move supports efforts to study and test potential use cases for central bank digital currencies and tokenization technologies. This includes examining the policy, legal and technical issues and challenges facing central and commercial banks in using wholesale central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments, as well as assessing their potential implications for the future of payment systems and financial market infrastructures.