- The UAE Central Bank has taken the first step in its digital currency strategy, launching the Digital Dirham. With Abu Dhabi's G42 Cloud and R3 providing the infrastructure and technology, the country is well-prepared to move into the future of finance.
- Digital Dirham is looking to eliminate the "pains" of domestic and international payments, promote financial inclusion and move towards a cashless society, while reinforcing the UAE's payment structure with extra channels. This strategy, part of the nine initiatives of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation program established by the Central Bank in February.
Why it matters
The UAE Central Bank has reached the "next major milestone" of its CBDC strategy with the launch of Digital Dirham, following a string of successful collaborations, such as Project Aber with Saudi Arabia's central bank in 2020 and the mBridge project for cross-border CBDC transactions for international trade settlements.
