Saudi Exits China-Led CBDC Cross-Border Payments Project mBridge

Saudi Arabia has exited mBridge, a China-led cross-border payments project built around central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.

Cointelegraph reported on September 21, citing the Financial Times, that the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, ended its participation after completing the project’s proof of concept.

Saudi Arabia joined mBridge as a full participant in June 2024 and completed the proof of concept on May 13, 2025. SAMA said its withdrawal from the project was part of the original plan.

mBridge was launched in 2021 by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates to speed up cross-border payments and cut costs.

Instead of relying on a single stablecoin, the project allows participating central banks to issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger. It was designed to enable direct processing of cross-border payments and foreign-exchange transactions.

The BIS transferred operation of the project to the participating central banks in October 2024, after mBridge reached the minimum viable product stage. At the time, BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens said the institution’s exit was not politically motivated.

Still, mBridge has drawn concern in the U.S. over the possibility that it could be used to evade sanctions. In a 2024 report, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said mBridge could eventually provide an alternative cross-border payments system for countries seeking to avoid U.S. sanctions.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China is monitoring the role of stablecoins and CBDCs in cross-border payments. Wang Xin, director of the PBOC Research Bureau, said in June that oversight of the cross-border use of stablecoins and CBDCs, along with international coordination, should be strengthened.