Finance21 September, 20262 min read
Saudi Arabia Ends mBridge Participation After SAMA Completes Proof of Concept
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Saudi Central Bank ended participation in mBridge after completing a May 2025 proof-of-concept. SAMA confirmed withdrawal, marking exit from China-led cross-border CBDC project.
Saudi exits mBridge
Saudi Arabia ended its participation in mBridge after completing a planned proof of concept on 13 May 2025, and SAMA said it was no longer a participating member following that completion. The Financial Times reported that SAMA had joined mBridge as a full participant in June 2024, and the project had been established in 2021 through a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
The mBridge platform was designed to let participating central banks issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger, including for cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions. The BIS continued to develop the project until October 2024, when it handed it over to the participating central banks after mBridge reached its minimum viable product stage.
Scrutiny and US concerns
U.S. policymakers scrutinized mBridge for its potential to provide an alternative cross-border settlement system for countries seeking to evade U.S. sanctions, according to a 2024 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. A person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that it would be “inaccurate to draw any wider inference” from SAMA’s decision because the central bank’s involvement in mBridge had been limited from the start.
Agustín Carstens said the BIS exit was not politically motivated, and he later described the institution as having “graduated out” of the project because participating central banks were capable of continuing the work themselves. President Donald Trump threatened BRICS countries with tariffs if they pursue alternatives intended to replace the US dollar in international trade, and the reporting tied that broader pressure to the political sensitivity around cross-border payment rails.
What comes next
mBridge continued with its remaining central-bank participants after Saudi Arabia’s exit, and the platform’s future commercial use and governance were described as still developing. The Monetary Authority of Macao joined mBridge in 2026 and activated the system for participating banks on June 2, and three Macao banks completed 23 cross-border transactions on the first day.
The transactions were worth nearly 1.3 billion Macao patacas, according to the authority, and the reporting described the deals as involving trade settlement and remittances with mainland China, Hong Kong and the UAE. SAMA’s proof-of-concept completion on 13 May 2025 left Saudi Arabia with experience in wholesale CBDC technology even though it was no longer a participating member of the platform.