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Deployments · platform by Central Bank of the UAE

Central Bank of the UAE Digital Dirham pilotNew

The UAE's central bank digital currency, built by the Central Bank of the UAE under its Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme and run on the mBridge multi-CBDC platform. On 11 November 2025 the federal Ministry of Finance and Dubai's Department of Finance made the first government payment with it as part of the pilot, settling in under two minutes. The 2025 central bank law makes the Digital Dirham legal tender and a direct claim on the central bank, distributed through licensed banks, exchange houses and fintechs; issuance regulations and the wider retail rollout, including peer-to-peer and merchant payments, were still pending in 2026.

AnnouncedProof of conceptPilotLive (limited)Live (scaled)

Pilot since 11 Nov 2025[1] — Pilot phase; full launch targeted for late 2026 (secondary report). · Reviewed 22d ago

Assets
Central-bank money[2]
Digital Dirham, a direct claim on the central bank; retail and wholesale uses planned
Networks
mBridge Ledger Private, permissioned[1]
The release calls mBridge the government payments platform the pilot payment ran on.
Use cases
Domestic payments[1]Merchant payments[3]Cross-border payments[3]
Jurisdictions
United Arab Emirates

Participants

Assets

Timeline

  1. Happened Jan 2026 (month only) · Regulatory approval · recorded 17 Oct 2026
    The new central bank law in force makes the Digital Dirham legal tender; issuance and circulation regulations are still to come from the CBUAE board.[2]
  2. Happened 11 Nov 2025 · First transaction · recorded 17 Oct 2026
    The Ministry of Finance and Dubai Finance make the first government payment in Digital Dirham via mBridge, completed in under two minutes.[1][3]
  3. Happened Jul 2025 (month only) · Announcement · recorded 17 Oct 2026
    A CBUAE policy primer confirms a two-tier model in which the central bank runs the ledger and licensed institutions distribute the Digital Dirham.[2]

Sources

  1. [1]Ministry of Finance and Dubai Finance conduct first government transaction using Digital Dirham — Government of Dubai Media Office, 11 Nov 2025. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.B
  2. [2]UAE Formalizes Digital Dirham as Legal Tender with New Federal Decree — Hadef & Partners, 15 Jan 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026. Law firm analysis of CB Law 2025; does not give the decree number or effective date..B
  3. [3]UAE's Digital Dirham CBDC Pilot Goes Live — Global List of Launched, Piloting, and Developing CBDCs — CCN (via Yahoo Finance), 12 Nov 2025. Accessed 17 Oct 2026. Gives the 2026 phasing (peer-to-peer, commercial, cross-border) and a late-2026 full-launch target, attributed to the CBUAE..C
  4. [4]CBUAE launches the Central Bank Digital Currency Strategy "The Digital Dirham" — Central Bank of the UAE, 23 Mar 2023. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.B
  5. [5]UAE Central Bank, R3, G42 and Clifford Chance team up on CBDC strategy — Electronic Payments International, 4 Apr 2023. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.C

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