The issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be part of the UAE’s financial infrastructure transformation program.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) unveiled a financial infrastructure transformation (FIT) program, the first phase of which involves issuing a CBDC. There’s no specific timeline for launching the financial instrument, but the entire program runs until 2026. The CBDC is scheduled to be released in the first phase.
According to the CBUAE representatives, the digital currency will improve the efficiency of cross-border payments and promote greater innovation in the domestic payments market. In turn, the transformation program aims to develop digital payments and is designed to ensure the UAE’s competitiveness as an international financial hub.
Other plans announced under the FIT program include:
- Launching a unified payment platform and issuing uniform bank cards with enhanced security — Card Internal Scheme.
- Developing a platform for customer due diligence (eKYC).
- The Open Finance initiative — developing interconnection and compatibility of products and technologies used by market participants.
- Advancing SupTech technologies for more effective market regulation.
- Establishing an innovation hub for collaborative research and development in FinTech and other areas.
“The FIT program embodies the directions and aspirations of our wise leadership towards digitizing the economy and developing the financial sector,” said Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE.
Recall that the UAE is actively developing blockchain with government support. For instance, court procedures are optimized through distributed ledger technology, and the territory of Sharjah is fully transferred to the Sharjahverse Metaverse.
