Saudi-Emirati agreement to launch a common digital currency

 

The two central banks in Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced their agreement on the results of the discussions of the "transient" project to create a digital currency that can be used between the concerned commercial bankAs. Through a single cross-border settlement network.

 

In a joint statement, the Saudi and Emirati central banks said that the project is an innovative initiative that is one of the first experiences in the world at the level of central banks in this field, according to the Saudi newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat.

 

They added that the final results of the project were consistent with the results of similar experiences of a number of central banks in proving that the distributed records technology will contribute to providing central banks with the necessary capabilities to develop payment systems at the local and cross-border levels.

 

The two sides expressed their hope that the project would represent "a base for further studies and applications in partnership with central banks and relevant international organizations that focus in particular on studying the repercussions that may arise from monetary policy tools and the stability of the financial sector, and the impact of various technical possibilities on the regulatory frameworks and the sector in general." ".

 

The digital currency will only be used by the two central banks and banks participating in the initiative as a settlement unit for commercial bank operations in both countries; Whether it is local operations or operations between the two countries' borders.

 

Over the course of a whole year, usage solutions were designed, implemented and managed. The solutions, results, and main lessons learned were documented in the report of the "Aber" project, which aims to make the project's outputs contribute significantly to the knowledge content in this area, and lay the foundations for future work planned to be explored in the coming years.

 

A number of banks in both countries participate in the initiative, in addition to the two central banks. It includes Al-Rajhi Bank, Al-Inma Bank and Riyad Bank from Saudi Arabia, while First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank are participating in the Emirates.