According to WAM news agency, as part of UAE’s Central Bank 50th anniversary, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), made the first ever CBDC, digital currency cross border payment transaction to China utilizing the Mbridge Blockchain platform.
This amounts to a $13.6 million transaction sent directly to China through the ‘BIS M Bridge’ platform DLT.
Prior to this, The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and the People’s Bank of China signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to enhance technical and technological cooperation in the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), going beyond initial collaboration on mBridge CBDC project.
In September 2023, during a speech given by Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) CEO Eddie Yue, he discussed the whole sale CBDC ( Central Bank Digital Currency) project Mbridge stating that the launch of a minimal viable product ( MVP) would be soon, with participation of UAE Central Bank, Bank of China, BIS, Bank of Thailand and some new entrants.
The UAE Central Bank officials had called for a comprehensive regulatory framework for central digital currencies that would facilitate, accelerate and reduce the cost of cross border monetary operations.
R3 was chosen by UAE Central Bank as its technology partner to design and build a CBDC for the first phase of the central bank’s CBDC project because it is a permissioned based DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) that decentralize assets privately and works well in regulated industries, but more importantly is its interoperability and asset fluidity.
Sheikh Mansour also witnessed the graduation of the first batch of 1,056 citizens from the ‘Ethraa’ program, who completed a high-level training and qualification program at the Emirates Institute of Finance.
The ceremony showcased the progress and development journey that the CBUAE has witnessed over 50 years, during which the apex bank has contributed to strengthening financial and monetary stability and driving the wheel of economic growth in the UAE. This is in addition to launching a package of innovative projects implemented by the Central Bank’s subsidiaries within the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program (FIT program) to accelerate the digital transformation in the financial services sector as part of a wider strategy aimed at enabling the CBUAE to be among the top central banks globally.
