UAE Makes First Cross‑Border CBDC Payment to China via mBridge (Jisr)
The United Arab Emirates has executed the first-ever cross‑border payment using a central bank digital currency over the mBridge (Jisr) network, with the transfer carried out under the authority of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the Central Bank of the UAE. The payment to China represents a practical test of CBDC rails connecting multiple jurisdictions and demonstrates the UAE’s active role in exploring digital currency infrastructure. This milestone matters because it tests technical interoperability, compliance mechanisms, and liquidity arrangements that could speed settlement, cut costs, and expand trade corridors between the two countries. The mBridge pilot is intended to inform how central banks coordinate on cross‑border settlement; follow-up activity will be watched for increases in transaction volumes, additional currency corridors, and potential commercial use cases that could influence broader payments infrastructure.