Saudi central bank withdraws from mBridge cross-border payment platform, denies pressure from US

The Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA) has withdrawn from the mBridge cross-border central bank digital currency platform. The Saudi Arabian central bank will join as an observer in 2023, participate in the development of the minimum viable product in 2024, and will no longer be a member after completing the concept validation on May 13, 2025. It denies that its withdrawal is related to pressure from the US. MBridge was initiated by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Centre Hong Kong in 2021, with co builders including the Bank of Thailand, the Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The Bank for International Settlements transferred the project to its central bank partners in October 2024, and the Macau Monetary Authority joined this year and went online in June. (Source: Financial Times)