Saudi Arabia Exits mBridge Cross-Border Payments Platform

Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from mBridge, a China-led cross-border payments platform using central bank digital currencies and distributed ledger technology. The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, had joined in 2023, upgraded to full participant status in June 2024, but decided not to continue with the platform.

The kingdom's involvement was always intended to be exploratory rather than operational. After completing its minimum viable product proof of concept on May 13, 2025, SAMA chose not to stick around for what comes next. mBridge has been processing real volume, handling approximately $55.5 billion in transactions by late 2025.

Saudi Arabia's withdrawal suggests Riyadh is not ready to be associated with a platform that bypasses SWIFT and dollar clearing, creating channels outside the infrastructure used to enforce sanctions. The kingdom has spent years balancing its relationships with Washington and Beijing, joining BRICS while maintaining deep defense and energy ties with the US.