December 15, 2018:  Some media have reported incorrectly that UAE and Saudi Arabia have started using digital currency for cross-border settlements which will be backed by fiat currencies of the 2 nations. 

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) would like to clarify that CBUAE is working with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) on a joint project which constitutes a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for experimenting with Blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border payments between the two countries. 

The PoC is still at an early stage and will help CBUAE gain a deeper understanding of the feasibility of distributed ledger technology in this field and explore the potential opportunities and benefits of a digital currency.

CBUAE and SAMA have selected a tech company to support the implementation of this PoC, which is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2019. The project started with initial knowledge transfer sessions, and is currently in the phase of business and technical requirements gathering.

Once completed, the outcome of this PoC will determine whether a digital currency could be introduced in normal market operations between the two countries.