Saudi Arabia has withdrawn a China-led cross-border payments platform designed to allow central banks to transact directly using digital currencies.
The Saudi Central Bank, or SAMA, confirmed to the Financial Times that it was no longer participating in the project, mBridge, after completing its proof-of-concept phase in May 2025.
It said the withdrawal was part of its original plan and did not indicate that the decision was necessarily linked to US pressure.
SAMA said it had “successfully completed” its mBridge proof of concept on May 13, 2025, following which it ceased to be a participating member, FT reported.
Notably, the Saudi Arabia had first joined mBridge as an observer in 2023 before becoming a participant in the platform’s minimum viable product phase in 2024. It had said the project was aimed at exploring wholesale central bank digital currencies and their potential to make cross-border payments more efficient.
Developed as a multi-central-bank digital currency platform, mBridge is a multi-central-bank digital currency platform. The partnering countries were China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), among others.
The platform uses blockchain technology to facilitate direct cross-border transactions involving central bank digital currencies, and is designed to reduce the time and cost involved in foreign exchange transactions and potentially reduce the need for the US dollar to act as an intermediary currency.
At the BRICS Summit, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also had a special appeal to make a common currency towards de-dollarisation. Iranian President has called for greater efforts to reduce dependence on the US dollar as the grouping looks to strengthen trade and financial cooperation among member countries.
India’s Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had also called on BRICS countries to open their markets to each other, cut non-tariff barriers and link their payment systems. The Minister pitched for deeper economic integration as the grouping seeks to build more resilient supply chains and navigate a fragmented global economy.