Saudi Arabia's Exit from mBridge: A Prudent Withdrawal and Its Lessons

A Measured Departure

The withdrawal of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) from mBridge, the China-backed platform through which central banks settle cross-border payments in their own digital currencies, has prompted considerable debate since it became public in September 2026. SAMA concluded its proof of concept on 13 May 2025 and left thereafter, and a departure by the country most closely associated with the petrodollar has naturally been read as a judgement on the project as a whole.

The decision matters because of the scale mBridge has attained. By November 2025 the platform had processed 4,047 transactions worth approximately $55.49 billion, more than 95 percent of it settled in China's digital yuan, making it the most advanced multi-CBDC arrangement in operation.

The decision is a prudent one, and it neither signals the end of alternative payment systems nor amounts merely to Washington imposing its will upon an ally; rather, it demonstrates that a payment system is only as useful as the counterparties it connects and only as credible as the institution that governs it. On both counts mBridge is found wanting, and the appropriate course lies in infrastructure that is neutral, transparent and governed by more than a single dominant member.

The Rationale for Withdrawal

The first consideration is the structure of Saudi Arabia's trade and reserves. The kingdom pegs its currency to the dollar, prices its oil in dollars and holds approximately $142.4 billion in US Treasury securities, while its RMB 50 billion swap arrangement with the People's Bank of China, concluded in November 2023, already provides yuan when required. Continued participation in a system that settles almost exclusively in yuan would therefore have imposed a political cost without a commensurate economic benefit.

The second consideration is the limited demand for the platform outside China. Between June 2024 and the end of 2025, mBridge processed 4,868 payments worth about $67 billion, roughly 96 percent of it in digital yuan, a rate of eight to nine payments a day that the settlement system CLS would clear in about twelve minutes. Since Saudi Arabia's own trial took place in a test environment in which no actual funds were transferred, the cost of withdrawal was minimal.

The third and most consequential consideration is governance. When the Bank for International Settlements withdrew in October 2024, it affirmed that mBridge was not designed to circumvent sanctions, yet that assurance carried weight only for as long as the BIS remained involved. The platform now rests with its member central banks, one of which accounts for nearly all of its activity and published data. For a country that depends upon American security commitments and uninterrupted access to the dollar system, participation in an arrangement lacking independent oversight is a risk that a prudent central bank would be unwilling to accept.

The Question of External Pressure

It may be argued that the withdrawal reflects American pressure rather than independent judgement, particularly as Riyadh was then seeking urgent US assistance against Houthi forces, and that mBridge, which recently admitted Macau, will continue to expand regardless. Pressure may have been a factor, yet a decision influenced from abroad can still serve the national interest, and expansion carries limited significance where nearly all value remains in a single currency, a pattern characteristic of a regional yuan network rather than a multilateral utility.

Towards Neutral Payment Infrastructure

The viability of any payment system therefore depends upon its counterparties and its governance, and this points to clear priorities. The remaining members of mBridge, in particular the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Thailand, should disclose their non-yuan volumes and accept independent oversight. States seeking more efficient cross-border payments without taking sides in a currency rivalry would be better served by neutral initiatives such as Project Nexus, expected to become operational in 2027, and the BIS-supported Project Agorá. The United States should recognise that the dollar's central position is best preserved by keeping the dollar-based system fair, open and economical to use.

Saudi Arabia has not rejected the principle of alternative payment systems; it has declined to remain within one that serves, above all, a single member. That judgement is sound, and it offers a foundation for future policy, namely that cross-border payment systems should be designed so that states participate on the basis of economic merit rather than geopolitical alignment.

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