Saudi, UAE central banks reveal results of joint digital currency project

Saudi, UAE central banks reveal results of joint digital currency project

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) have launched Aber, a joint digital currency and distributed ledger, as a proof-of-concept (POC) project.The initiative sought to explore whether distributed ledger technology (DLT) could enable cross-border payments between the two countries using a new, dual-issued digital currency as a unit of settlement between commercial banks in the two countries as well as domestically.The Aber report aims to significantly enrich knowledge content in the field of DLT and Central Bank Digital Currencies, in addition to laying the foundations for future work to be explored in the coming years.The main objectives of the initiative are:To explore, experiment, and gain a deeper understanding of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and analyse its maturityTo explore an alternative DLT-based cross-border payment solution that can overcome inefficiencies in existing cross-border interbank payment approachesTo understand and experiment with the dual issuance of a central-bank digital currencyBenchmark findings against those of other central banks.The project is structured into three distinct phases or use cases:Use case one to explore cross-border settlement between the two central banks;Use case two to explore domestic settlement between three commercial banks in each countryUse case three to explore cross-border transactions between