As Australia accelerates its experiments with digital currency and tokenisation, and Saudi Arabia drives forward central bank digital currency (CBDC) and fintech reforms under Vision 2030, both countries appear increasingly aligned in preparing for more efficient cross-border payments. Emerging pilots, wholesale trials, and multilateral CBDC platforms are laying the foundations for a future where transfers between Australian and Saudi institutions can be faster, cheaper, and seamlessly settled in digital money.
Australia’s Path: Project Acacia and Wholesale CBDC Pilots
Australia is pursuing one of the most ambitious wholesale digital currency experiments in the region. Project Acacia, jointly run by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), has brought together 24 participants — spanning banks, fintech firms, and market infrastructure providers.
The program is testing 19 pilot use cases with real money and assets, alongside five proof-of-concept trials conducted in simulated environments.
The pilots explore a broad spectrum of instruments, including fixed income securities, private market assets, tokenised trade receivables, and carbon credits. Settlement approaches under review include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale CBDC.
Experiments are distributed across multiple platforms — Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect, and Ethereum-compatible systems — reflecting the variety of technologies that may underpin digital money in future wholesale markets.
Importantly, regulators are also engaged. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has granted limited exemptions to allow certain pilots — particularly tokenised settlement trials — to proceed under lighter oversight while potential risks are evaluated.
Initial findings from Project Acacia are expected in early 2026. These insights are likely to influence how Australia integrates digital money into wholesale markets, and by extension, how it approaches cross-border payments.
Saudi Arabia’s Digital Currency Strategy: mBridge and Payments Modernisation
Saudi Arabia is embedding digital finance into its Vision 2030 economic transformation plan. In June 2024, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) formally joined Project mBridge, a multi-CBDC initiative led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) with participation from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and others. The project aims to enable real-time, cross-border settlements between central banks and commercial banks using CBDCs.
Domestically, SAMA is cautiously exploring CBDC adoption. While no decision has been made on issuing a retail CBDC, wholesale pilots with local banks and fintech firms are underway. These trials assess legal frameworks, monetary policy implications, and the technical requirements for a CBDC ecosystem.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia is modernising its payments landscape. Partnerships with global providers are expanding access to digital wallets such as Alipay+, QR-code-based settlement networks, and platforms like Google Pay. These upgrades aim to boost financial inclusion, reduce cash dependency, and streamline external trade and remittances — critical priorities for a nation with a large expatriate workforce and growing international trade footprint.
Convergence: Linking Australia and Saudi Arabia
Although a direct Australia–Saudi CBDC payment corridor has not been publicly announced, several developments point toward eventual interoperability:
- Interoperable platforms — Australia’s pilots across diverse distributed ledgers echo the multi-technology architecture underpinning mBridge. Alignment of standards could allow tokenised assets and CBDCs to connect across systems.
- Regulatory alignment — Both ASIC and SAMA are building regulatory “sandboxes” to support experimentation. Bilateral collaboration could harmonise compliance and oversight.
- Economic incentives — Trade, remittances, and investment flows would gain from faster and cheaper settlement. Agriculture, energy, and education are sectors where reduced costs and delays would add measurable value.
- Shared multilateral platforms — With Saudi Arabia already participating in mBridge and Australia engaged in international CBDC research, collaboration through multilateral infrastructure looks increasingly feasible.
Challenges on the Horizon
The opportunities are significant, but so are the risks:
- Legal and regulatory frameworks — Cross-border rules on AML, consumer protection, and data privacy remain complex and fragmented.
- Technical interoperability — Aligning ledgers, tokenisation protocols, and atomic settlement standards across jurisdictions is not trivial.
- Monetary policy risks — Wholesale or cross-border CBDCs may affect liquidity flows, financial stability, and banking sector dynamics.
- Operational resilience — Cybersecurity threats, outages, and settlement failures require robust contingency measures.
- Public trust and adoption — Success depends on confidence among banks, corporates, and consumers in the reliability and safety of digital money.
Outlook: Milestones to Watch
Several key developments will shape the trajectory of CBDC and digital payments between Australia and Saudi Arabia:
- Project Acacia results (early 2026) — expected to clarify whether wholesale CBDCs deliver measurable efficiency and cost benefits.
- SAMA’s CBDC roadmap — whether Saudi Arabia moves beyond exploration to piloting or issuing a wholesale CBDC, and how it connects to cross-border platforms.
- Interoperability initiatives — potential testing through mBridge or new bilateral corridors.
Regulatory harmonisation — possible MoUs between the RBA and SAMA could formalise joint approaches. - Private sector adoption — banks, fintechs, and payment providers in both countries are already preparing digital settlement tools.
Conclusion: Building Blocks for the Future
Australia and Saudi Arabia are advancing digital finance rapidly, though from different angles. Australia is focusing on wholesale CBDCs and tokenised settlement via Project Acacia, while Saudi Arabia is pursuing integration with mBridge alongside broader payments modernisation under Vision 2030.
Taken together, these initiatives are laying the foundation for faster, cheaper, and more resilient financial connectivity between the two nations. Achieving this vision will require three critical factors: technical interoperability, regulatory coordination, and strong risk management.
For policymakers, businesses, and investors, these developments mark not only the transformation of domestic financial systems but also the creation of new channels for trade and investment. The Australia–Saudi digital payments corridor is not yet here — but the groundwork is being laid.
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Reuters
