First cross-border payment for the UAE Central Banks Digital Dirham was done with China through the mBridge

On Monday, the UAE Central Bank's digital currency, Digital Dirham, had its first cross-border transfer made straight to China by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice-President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board. The Dh50 million payment was conducted via "mBridge," a distributed ledger technology—also referred to as blockchain—based international fund transfer system that allows member institutions to send money internationally using central bank digital currency (CBDC). Sheikh Mansour made the payment while attending a celebration marking the CBUAE’s 50th Anniversary.

He also saw the first group of 1,056 male and female residents to graduate from the "Ethraa" curriculum after completing an advanced training and qualifying programme at the Emirates Institute of Finance. By developing advanced national skills and preparing a generation of national experts capable of spearheading the UAE's commercial sectors, the Ethraa project seeks to promote Emirati participation in the financial industry.

The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre hosted the celebration, which was attended by several high-ranking officials, Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, the Chairman of the National Media Office, and Khaled Mohamed Balama, the Governor of CBUAE.

The event highlighted the development and advancement that the CBUAE has seen over the course of the last 50 years, during which the premier bank has strengthened monetary and financial stability and sped up economic expansion in the United Arab Emirates. As part of a larger strategy to enable the CBUAE to be among the top central banks globally, this is in addition to launching a package of cutting-edge projects carried out by the Central Bank's subsidiaries within the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme (FIT programme) to accelerate the digital transformation in the financial services sector.

Sheikh Mansour reaffirmed the government leadership's desire to keep bolstering the United Arab Emirates' standing as a major international financial hub. He cited the CBUAE's contribution to national development initiatives, economic growth, and the consolidation of monetary and financial stability as well as the attainment of efficiency and flexibility in the financial system.