Central banks of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates trialing new digital currency Aber for cross-border payments

Briefing

Central banks of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates trialing new digital currency Aber for cross-border payments

January 29, 2019

Briefing

  • Cryptocurrency Trial – Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) testing new cryptocurrency Aber that would circulate in both countries
  • Cross-Border Payments – Considering if blockchain can be used to facilitate seamless cross-border payments between two nations at lower remittance costs
  • Monetary Policies – Program will also seek to assess impact of state-owned cryptocurrency to monetary policies
  • Reserve Currency – Will also consider whether cryptocurrency can be used as additional reserve system for domestic central payments in case of any disruption
  • Limited to Banks – Pilot limited to both countries’ banks only but other uses may be considered in future
  • Overall Plan – Trial part of seven-point cooperation plan that aims to strengthen ties between both countries, including knowledge sharing, and political or military collaboration

Accelerator

Market Disruption

Sector

Financial Services

Organization

Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB)

Source

Original Publication Date

January 19, 2019

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