No decision made to introduce digital currency — Saudi Central Bank – Saudi Gazette

No decision made to introduce digital currency — Saudi Central Bank – Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) stressed that no decision has been made regarding the introduction of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the Kingdom.

In a statement on Monday, the bank said to continue experiments on Central Bank Digital Currency as it is currently working on a phase of a project that focuses on domestic wholesale CBDC use cases in collaboration with local banks and FinTechs.

SAMA added that it continues to focus on exploring the benefits and potential risks of implementing CBDC. This will contribute to informed decision-making within SAMA and to CBDC explorations within the central banking community.

During this phase of the project, SAMA seeks to explore CBDC economic impact, market readiness, and potential robust and fast applications of a CBDC-based payment solution.

In addition, SAMA seeks to review policy, legal and regulatory considerations before moving to the next phases of the CBDC journey to contribute to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The SAMA Governor Fahad Almubarak stated that local banks and payment companies will always be a cornerstone of this project and its implementation.

SAMA stated that it has engaged both local banks and FinTechs, as well as other market players and third party consulting and technology