Status
PILOT
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Digital Riyal
According to Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) disclosures and linked sources, this profile records status, architecture, and capability fields for Saudi Arabia Digital Riyal.
Program Snapshot
Current status fields and timeline data from the profile record.
Type
WHOLESALE
Program classification
Wallets
Not listed
Annual Volume
Not listed
Status and Timeline
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Announced | 2023-01-01 |
| Pilot start | 2023-01-23 |
| Launch | Not listed |
| Last verified | 2026-06-06 |
Availability
- Retail
- none
- Wholesale
- pilot
Central Bank
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
Technical Profile
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Wholesale |
| Architecture | two-tier |
| Access model | account based |
| Technology base | dlt |
| Legal tender | pilot only |
Capabilities
offline payments: No
programmability: Yes
cross border: Yes
interest bearing: No
transaction limits: Yes
Cross-Border Projects
mBridge
Role: participant
Recent Updates
According to SAMA, Saudi Arabia continued CBDC experimentation on January 23, 2023 with a phase focused on domestic wholesale CBDC use cases in collaboration with local banks and fintechs, while stressing that no decision had been made to introduce a CBDC in the Kingdom. SAMA later announced on June 5, 2024 that Saudi Arabia joined Project mBridge as a participant in the Minimum Viable Product platform. SAMA describes the MVP platform as a wholesale CBDC system for cross-border payments between commercial banks in different jurisdictions. BIS materials state that Project mBridge reached MVP stage in mid-2024, that the Saudi Central Bank joined in 2024, and that BIS announced in October 2024 that it was handing the project over to the partners. The registry therefore keeps Saudi Arabia as a wholesale pilot and does not treat the Digital Riyal as a retail launch.
Updated: Jun 6, 2026
Reference Answers
Is Saudi Arabia Digital Riyal a retail CBDC launch or a wholesale pilot?
high confidenceAs of 2026-06-06The registry treats Saudi Arabia as a wholesale CBDC pilot, not a retail Digital Riyal launch.
SAMA source evidence supports wholesale experimentation and mBridge participation. SAMA said in January 2023 that its CBDC work focused on domestic wholesale CBDC use cases with local banks and fintechs, while no decision had been made to introduce a CBDC in the Kingdom. In June 2024, SAMA joined Project mBridge as an MVP platform participant. That supports wholesale pilot classification, but not a retail rollout or legal-tender launch claim.
- SAMA identified domestic wholesale CBDC experimentation on 2023-01-23.
- SAMA joined Project mBridge as an MVP platform participant on 2024-06-05.
- No retail launch or domestic CBDC introduction decision is integrated.
Citations
Caveats
- This answer does not claim a retail launch, legal-tender rollout, or public wallet availability.
Related CBDCs
Sources
Sources
Last verified: 2026-06-06
Saudi Central Bank Continues CBDC Experimentations
central bank
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
central bank
SAMA Joins mBridge Project as MVP Platform Participant
central bank
Project mBridge - BIS Innovation Hub
regulator
SAMA and CBUAE Issue Report on Results of Joint Digital Currency Project 'Aber'
central bank
Project mBridge: Connecting economies through CBDC - BIS Innovation Hub
regulator
Saudi Vision 2030
government
SAMA Financial Stability Report - Digital Payments and CBDC Initiatives
central bank