China: Launched Project mBridge Minimum Viable Product platform for early adopters

On 5 June 2024, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, and the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, launched the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) platform of the mBridge project. The mBridge project aims to create a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) common platform for wholesale cross-border payments and settlements. Several UAE licensed financial institutions (LFIs) have already been onboarded onto the mBridge platform, with ongoing collaborative efforts to accelerate its adoption. These LFIs are now prepared to initiate and process cross-border CBDC payments with their counterparts in the participating jurisdictions.