The UAE government has conducted its first national transaction using the Digital Dirham.
The transaction was carried out by the Ministry of Finance and the Dubai Department of Finance, working closely with the Central Bank of the UAE, it was announced on Tuesday.
It is a key milestone in the nation’s campaign to embed next-generation financial technology across the public and private sectors.
Ahmed Ali Meftah, executive director of the central accounts sector at the Department of Finance, said the first pilot transaction was executed via the mBridge platform, the multi-central bank digital currency settlement system developed by the central bank.
He said the transaction was completed in less than two minutes. Details of the product or service purchased has not yet been revealed.
The Digital Dirham project was launched under the central bank's Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme in collaboration with local financial authorities. It enables the UAE to accelerate the adoption of digital payments and to bolster its reputation as a global financial innovation hub.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE, said the Digital Dirham is a “strategic pillar” in the country's aim to establish an integrated digital economy.
He said the first government-to-government transaction demonstrates the advanced technical infrastructure and high level of integration in the national financial system.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said this was a “pivotal moment in the history of government financial transformation in the UAE” in a post on X.
The transaction ties into wider developments in the UAE’s digital-asset strategy. The country has been preparing regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and digital currencies, signalling that utility, clarity of regulation, and institutional adoption are critical for their success.
Jurisdictions that create regulatory clarity around digital assets are more likely to attract institutional investment and drive real-world usage, experts told The National in April.
The UAE’s central bank strategy on the Digital Dirham was initiated in March 2023, and local regulation has required stablecoins to be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets and subject to audit.
In April, Abu Dhabi entities IHC, ADQ and First Abu Dhabi Bank announced that they plan to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin, which will be fully regulated by the UAE Central Bank.
