Riyad Bank's Ripple Partnership Creates Tension for Saudi Arabia's CBDC Plans

Saudi Arabia's Central Bank (SAMA) has officially ended its participation in mBridge, a multi-CBDC platform developed by central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE.

The proof of concept, which began in May 2025, was planned to conclude after a year, according to SAMA's statement to the Financial Times. SAMA had become a full participant in June 2024 to investigate whether wholesale CBDCs could make cross-border payments more efficient.

Riyad Bank, however, has partnered with Ripple in January 2026 to explore blockchain technology in Saudi financial services, including cross-border payment corridors and digital-asset custody. This collaboration may create an overlap with mBridge's goals, but there is currently no evidence that Saudi Arabia is replacing mBridge with Ripple or XRP.

Saudi Arabia has a history with Ripple, having launched a pilot in 2018 to experiment with the company's cross-border payment technology. While this partnership does not automatically translate into XRP adoption, it may indicate an interest in using blockchain for faster and cheaper payments.