Saudi Arabia's central bank ended its participation in mBridge after completing a planned proof of concept on May 13, 2025, with the withdrawal becoming public on September 20, 2026. SAMA joined the wholesale central bank digital currency platform as a full participant in June 2024 after observing it previously. The departure has not changed the reported expansion trend in transaction volumes on the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS. The report describes Saudi Arabia's exit as the ninth notable development in cross-border payment infrastructure that did not alter CIPS volume growth. The exit does not establish a link to Ripple, XRP, RLUSD or a replacement cross-border payments strategy. Riyad Bank's Jeel unit separately signed a January agreement with Ripple to explore payment corridors, digital asset custody and tokenization through its regulatory sandbox. mBridge is a China-linked, multi-central-bank platform designed to support direct cross-border settlement and foreign-exchange transactions. The BIS has described it as a payment-efficiency project rather than a BRICS initiative to bypass the dollar or sanctions.