Overview
- The Ministry of Finance and Dubai’s Department of Finance completed the transaction with Central Bank support under the FIT Programme.
- The payment settled in under two minutes via the mBridge multi‑CBDC platform, demonstrating intermediary‑free settlement.
- Officials described the operation as an operational readiness test centered on government and interbank use at this stage.
- The Central Bank says the Digital Dirham is a retail CBDC pegged 1:1 to AED, with expansion to peer‑to‑peer, commercial, and cross‑border use through 2026 toward a full launch late next year.
- Regulators are preparing stablecoin and digital‑asset frameworks, with existing rules requiring fully backed, audited dirham‑linked stablecoins.