Saudi Arabia withdraws from China’s digital currency payment system

Saudi Arabia has officially pulled out of mBridge, the China-led cross-border payments platform built on central bank digital currencies and distributed ledger technology. The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, completed its minimum viable product proof of concept on May 13, 2025, and decided not to stick around for what comes next. From observer to participant to exit SAMA’s journey through mBridge was relatively brief. The bank joined as an observing member in 2023, upgraded to full participant status in June 2024, and wrapped up its exploratory work less than a year later. SAMA has characterized its involvement as always intended to be exploratory rather than operational. The proof-of-concept phase gave Saudi officials a front-row seat to the platform’s technical capabilities without locking the kingdom into a commercial relationship. mBridge itself has been processing real volume. The platform reportedly handled approximately $55.5 billion in transactions by late 2025, a figure that demonstrates genuine traction among its remaining members. Those members include the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE, all of which continue to develop the system toward a co...