Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from mBridge, a cross-border digital currency platform in which China is a key participant, after completing a planned proof-of-concept exercise, the Financial Times reported.
The central bank said the withdrawal was in line with its original plan.
Saudi Arabia had joined mBridge as a full participant in 2024.
The platform uses distributed ledger technology and allows participating central and commercial banks to settle transactions directly in central bank money.
The mBridge project itself is not a Brics initiative and its participants have not described it as an effort to create a common currency.
Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from mBridge, a cross-border digital currency platform in which China is a key participant, after completing a planned proof-of-concept exercise, the Financial Times reported.
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) told the newspaper that it was no longer a participating member of the project after completing its proof of concept on May 13, 2025. The central bank said the withdrawal was in line with its original plan.
Saudi Arabia had joined mBridge as a full participant in 2024. The platform, which reached its minimum viable product stage that year, was developed to facilitate direct cross-border payments and foreign-exchange transactions using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The project was originally developed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub along with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. SAMA subsequently joined as a full participant.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was among the central banks observing the project during its BIS-led phase. The RBI has separately been exploring bilateral and multilateral arrangements for using CBDCs in cross-border payments.
The platform uses distributed ledger technology and allows participating central and commercial banks to settle transactions directly in central bank money. Its developers have said the system could reduce the cost, time and operational complexity associated with conventional cross-border payments.
According to the Financial Times, SAMA initially joined mBridge as an observer in 2023 before participating in work on the platform's minimum viable product and its own proof of concept.
A person familiar with the matter told the newspaper that it would be inaccurate to draw wider conclusions from the Saudi withdrawal or link the move to pressure from the US, given the limited nature of Riyadh's participation. Another person familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia continued to engage with the project more discreetly.
BIS exited project in 2024
The BIS itself ended its involvement with mBridge in October 2024 and handed the initiative over to participating central banks.
Then BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens said at the time that the institution had “graduated out” of the project and that its departure was not driven by political considerations. He also said mBridge had not been created as a BRICS payment platform and stressed the need for payment systems to comply with international sanctions.
The project's potential to enable payments without relying on traditional correspondent banking networks has, however, attracted attention in Washington over its implications for the dollar-based financial system.
US President Donald Trump has separately threatened Brics countries with tariffs if they seek to create or support a currency that replaces the dollar. In January 2025, Trump reiterated a threat of 100 per cent tariffs against Brics members pursuing such a move.
The mBridge project itself is not a Brics initiative and its participants have not described it as an effort to create a common currency.
Platform continues to expand
Saudi Arabia's departure comes even as the platform is expanding elsewhere.
The Monetary Authority of Macao joined mBridge in 2026 and activated the system for participating banks on June 2. Three Macao banks completed 23 cross-border transactions on the platform on the first day, involving trade settlement and remittances with mainland China, Hong Kong and the UAE. The transactions were worth nearly 1.3 billion Macao patacas, according to the authority.
The Financial Times reported that mBridge is moving towards broader commercial use as participating jurisdictions expand real-world transactions through the platform.
