Saudi Arabia has pulled out of mBridge, a China-led digital currency platform, in what appears to be a setback for efforts to build a payments system that is not reliant on the US dollar, the Financial Times reported. The move comes as Riyadh grows closer to, and more reliant on, Washington.
Saudi Arabia has pulled out of mBridge, China’s digital currency payment platform aimed at bypassing the U.S. dollar and SWIFT. pic.twitter.com/4LxjtHLd2C
— The World Time (@MuzamilK9865) September 20, 2026
Riyadh confirms it has left
The Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, confirmed to the FT that it withdrew last year. It said this was part of its original “plan” and not a sudden decision.
In a statement, SAMA explained how its role unfolded. It first joined mBridge in 2023 as an observing member under the umbrella of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as part of its research into central bank digital currencies. In 2024, it helped build the basic version of the platform, known as a “minimum viable product”, and created a “proof of concept”.
“As planned, SAMA successfully completed its mBridge (proof of concept) on 13th May 2025,” the bank said. After that, it added, it is “no longer a participating member of mBridge”.
What is mBridge and why does the US worry about it?
mBridge is a Beijing-led programme meant to offer an alternative to the dollar for cross-border payments. It uses blockchain technology so that central banks can deal with each other directly, using their own digital currencies. This cuts the time and cost of foreign exchange deals and reduces the role of the dollar as a middle currency. The platform is set to roll out commercially soon.
The project has caused controversy in the US. Washington fears that countries could use it to get around dollar-dominated payment systems such as SWIFT.
Saudi Arabia, a long-time US ally in the Middle East, became an active participant in 2024. It joined China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the BIS.
Was there pressure from Washington?
When asked whether SAMA faced any US pressure to leave, a person familiar with the matter said it would be “inaccurate to draw any wider inference” from the decision, since Saudi involvement was limited from the start.
Still, the FT has reported that Washington did pressure the BIS to withdraw, which it did in October 2024. Agustín Carstens, the BIS general manager at the time, later said the institution had “graduated out” of the project and handed it to the central bank partners. He said this was “not because it was a failure and not because of political considerations”.
The US has also been firm on the wider issue. President Donald Trump has threatened BRICS countries with 100 % tariffs if they look for alternatives to the dollar. Earlier last year, Daleep Singh, then White House deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics under the Biden administration, warned that China could “exert tremendous leverage in setting the standards for this platform”. He listed privacy, security, interoperability and the enforcement of US sanctions as areas where that influence could show up.
Another person familiar with the situation said SAMA no longer wanted to be publicly linked to the project. However, the bank continues to engage with it more discreetly.
Other central banks in the programme, including the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the UAE, the People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, declined to comment. The Monetary Authority of Macau joined the platform this year and launched the system in June.
Allies caught in the middle
Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University and senior fellow at Brookings, said many US allies see projects like mBridge as good for their economies. They also want to depend less on the dollar-led global financial system.
But he said these countries are “acutely sensitive to US pushback” against efforts that could reduce the dollar’s importance and, even worse, boost the role of China’s renminbi in global finance.
Prasad added that “backing off from such initiatives puts caution ahead of valour”, given the benefits these financial innovations could bring.
For now, Saudi Arabia’s exit shows how hard it is for even close partners of the US to move away from the dollar, while Beijing keeps pushing its platform forward.
