Saudi Arabia has ended its participation in mBridge, the wholesale central bank digital currency project designed to improve cross-border settlement between banks. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) completed its proof of concept on May 13, 2025, marking the conclusion of the kingdom's planned experiment. The central bank had joined mBridge as a full participant in June 2024 after an initial observation period.
mBridge supports direct cross-border payments and foreign-exchange transactions using wholesale CBDCs. Its distributed ledger was designed to reduce settlement friction between participating commercial banks and could reduce reliance on correspondent banks and intermediary currencies during international transfers.
The Bank for International Settlements, which had participated in the project for four years, left in October 2024. BIS General Manager AgustÃn Carstens said the organization had "graduated out" and rejected suggestions that political concerns drove the decision. SAMA similarly framed its exit as an operational conclusion following the planned proof of concept period.
Separate Ripple Exploration
While ending its mBridge participation, Saudi Arabia is pursuing other blockchain applications. Riyad Bank's innovation and technology arm, Jeel, signed an agreement with Ripple in January covering payment corridors, digital asset custody, and tokenization. The two sides planned proofs of concept through Jeel's regulatory sandbox.
SAMA has a longer history with Ripple technology, having partnered with the company in 2018 to allow domestic banks to test xCurrent for cross-border payments. Saudi British Bank later launched a Ripple-powered transfer service following testing with India.
However, neither Jeel nor SAMA has indicated that the latest collaboration involves XRP or RLUSD. Jeel's announcement referred to Ripple's broader blockchain technology without naming specific assets. The developments represent parallel experiments in digital settlement rather than evidence of one system replacing another.
