The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has conducted its first cross-border digital dirham transfer using the mBridge central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform.
The Dh50 million ($13.6 million) payment to China was sent by His Highness Sheikh Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Board of the CBUAE, during a celebration of the bank’s 50th Anniversary.
The mBridge is based on distributed ledger technology (DLT – also known as “blockchain”) and uses CBDC for international fund transfers between participating banks.
Project mBridge was introduced in 2021 and completed its first pilot in 2022. The project is a partnership between the central monetary authorities of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE in partnership with the Bank for International Settlement (BIS).
It is the only international collaborative partnership of its type that involves China.
During the event, Sheikh Mansour also witnessed the graduation of the first batch of 1,056 male and female citizens from the “Ethraa” programme, having completed a high-level training and qualification programme at the Emirates Institute of Finance.
The Ethraa programme aims to foster Emirati representation in the financial sector by building advanced national capacities and qualifying a generation of national expertise capable of leading the business sectors in the UAE.
“By equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge across diverse fields, these qualified professionals will play a pivotal role in strengthening the financial sector and contributing to the nation’s ongoing progress,”said HH Sheikh Mansour.
The event also highlighted innovative projects in the finance sector. This included the Al Etihad Payments’ launch of a project to operate a national Domestic Card Scheme, as well as celebrated its instant payments platform Aani.
The celebration was held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center and attended by H.H. Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Office; Khaled Mohamed Balama, CBUAE Governor; and other senior officials.