Overview
- The Ministry of Finance and Dubai’s Department of Finance completed the inaugural government-to-government transaction in coordination with the Central Bank of the UAE, settling in under two minutes.
- The pilot ran on mBridge, a multi-CBDC settlement platform co-developed with China, Hong Kong and Thailand, demonstrating cross-border interoperability for wholesale payments.
- Officials described the exercise as an operational readiness test under the Central Bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme with early use confined to government and interbank payments.
- Federal Decree Law No. (6) of 2025 defines the dirham in notes, coins and digital forms as legal tender, with detailed issuance and wallet rules pending from the Central Bank.
- According to the Central Bank, use cases will broaden to peer-to-peer, commercial and cross-border payments through 2026 with a fuller rollout targeted for late 2026, aiming to speed settlements and lower remittance costs.