The Saudi Central Bank said it was no longer a participating member of mBridge after completing a planned proof-of-concept on 13 May 2025. The institution confirmed the change to the Financial Times in a statement published on 20 September 2026. Saudi Arabia had joined the cross-border central-bank digital-currency project as an observer in 2023 and became a full participant in 2024. The confirmation establishes that its formal participation ended after the pilot rather than during the current reporting period.
mBridge was developed to test instant cross-border payments and settlement using central-bank digital currencies on distributed-ledger technology. The Bank for International Settlements worked with the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE on the project from 2021. Saudi Arabia joined when mBridge reached its minimum viable product stage in 2024. The BIS later ended its own involvement while the participating authorities continued developing the platform.
SAMA DESCRIBED THE EXIT AS PLANNED
SAMA told the Financial Times that its work covered development of the platform’s basic version and a proof-of-concept during 2024 and 2025. It said the pilot concluded successfully on 13 May 2025 and that participation ended afterwards as planned. The statement did not attribute the change to pressure from another government.
The Financial Times reported that a person familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia continued engaging with the project less publicly. That account was not confirmed by SAMA and should not be treated as evidence of formal membership. Other participating central banks declined to comment to the newspaper on the Saudi decision.
PUBLIC PROJECT RECORDS REQUIRE UPDATING
The BIS project page retrieved on 22 September still listed the Saudi Central Bank among mBridge partners and described its 2024 entry. That page provides authoritative background on the project but does not reflect SAMA’s later statement that participation ended in 2025. The discrepancy indicates that public project records have not all been updated consistently.
The next milestone will be an updated participant roster from the authorities now operating mBridge or a further SAMA disclosure on any continuing research relationship. Until then, Saudi Arabia should be described as a former formal participant based on the central bank’s statement. Any claim that it remains involved informally requires separate confirmation.