The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has joined the other 130+ countries' Apex banks to take digital finance to the next level by completing the first real-world transaction using its upcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Dirham. The transaction was recorded and completed between government entities in less than two minutes.
The transaction was executed by the Ministry of Finance (UAE) and the Dubai Department of Finance, in coordination with the CBUAE. It was conducted via the mBridge platform—a multi-CBDC infrastructure built in collaboration with other central banks (including China, Thailand, Hong Kong) and the BIS Innovation Hub.
mBridge is a multi–central bank digital currency (multi-CBDC) platform developed to enable cross-border payments and settlements directly between central banks using their own digital currencies.
It’s a joint project between: The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and The Bank of Thailand (BOT).
mBridge uses distributed ledger technology (DLT)—a system that is similar to that of blockchain ledger because of the fact that its operates on a decentralized, transparent, and tamper-resistant foundation—to make sure that transparency, security, and real-time settlement are top priorities.
This technology makes international money transfers faster, cheaper, and more secure, allowing central banks to transact directly in digital form without relying on intermediaries like correspondent banks.
Related: PalmPay and Wema Bank Complete First Live Payment on NIBSS National Payment Stack.
The pilot settlement time was “less than two minutes”. This highlights the potential speed and efficiency of digital currencies and also marks a shift from earlier cross-border testing into a domestic government-to-government transaction, and integration of the central‑bank‑issued digital currency into both public and private‑sector payments.
It's worth noting that Digital Dirham was launched in March as part of the UAE Central Bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme that's aimed at modernizing the nation’s payment systems and accelerating its transition toward a digital economy—such as this real-time transaction that was recorded in less than 2-minutes.
However, it's important to let you know that this is still a pilot transaction—it doesn’t yet mean full public rollout or that individuals can go out and use the Digital Dirham in their everyday commerce yet.
But the pilot transaction highlights how practical central bank digital currencies are becoming, with participants noting its smooth execution and rapid completion in under two minutes—a sign, officials say, of the Digital Dirham’s potential to enhance settlement efficiency and readiness for general use.
According to Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in a X post, the pilot transaction that was completed under 2 minutes is a “pivotal milestone in the history of government financial transformation in the UAE”.
Today, Ministry of Finance & Dubai Finance marked a pivotal milestone in the history of government financial transformation in the UAE, as we executed the first government transaction using the Digital Dirham issued by the Central Bank of the UAE, representing the future of the… pic.twitter.com/gYRiTC1Euh
— Maktoum Bin Mohammed (@MaktoumMohammed) November 11, 2025
The platform used, mBridge, supports multi-CBDC settlement. That means interoperability—cross-border and inter-jurisdictional use—is built into the system. Another thing to note of is the regulatory and risk-management frameworks that have remain front-and-centre of the concept.
The CBUAE has published policy papers that emphasize the speed and innovation and the reasons they matter. The Apex bank cited that the system must safeguard monetary stability, privacy, and cyber-resilience. That said, reality will hinge on how this infrastructure scales, how users adopt it, and how the regulatory ecosystem supports it. Speed is a great start; utility and trust will determine long-term success.
