The Central Bank of the UAE has selected three new partners to assist in the implementation of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) strategy.
According to Finextra, the CBUAE has selected Clifford Chance, R3 and G42 Cloud to assist them.
In the first phase of the strategy – which is expected to take place over the next year and three months – R3 and G42 Cloud have been chosen as the technology and infrastructure providers, whilst Clifford Chance has been called on to provide legal oversight.
Finextra highlighted that the CBUAE has been involved in a number of international digital currency trials over the past few years, including Project Aber with the Saudi Central Bank in 2020which confirmed the possibility of using a digital currency issued by two central banks to settle cross borders payments.
CBUAE governor H.E Khaled Mohamed Balama said, “The launch of our CBDC strategy marks a key step in the evolution of money and payments in the country. CBDC will accelerate our digitalisation journey and promote financial inclusion. We look forward to exploring the opportunities that CBDC will bring to the wider economy and society.”
The total value of payments through Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is expected to reach $213bn annually by 2030, according to a report from Juniper Research.
This value is a major jump from the total value of payments in 2023, which is predicted to hit just $100m. This is a growth rate of 260,000%
