Central Bank In Saudi Arabia Completes Blockchain Money Transfer

The central bank in Saudi Arabia, named the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), has recently announced the completion of a transfer using blockchain technology to deposit money to local banks.

As the official statement published by SAMA noted, the funds were a part of the bank’s initiative in which it will “capabilities to continue its role in providing credit facilities.” Therefore, the bank did not specify the exact amount of the fund transfer.

However, what is important in the blockchain news now is the fact that the central bank in Saudi Arabia is increasing its interest as it leans towards blockchain technology. In specific, the Middle East is seeing widespread adoption of blockchain technology in the finance sector.

As you probably know from our cryptonews, in 2018 SAMA partnered with the central bank of the United Arab Emirates in order to develop a digital currency that can be used for cross-border transactions between both countries.

The central bank of Saudi Arabia reflected on their recent transaction and active involvement in the blockchain space. As the announcement reads:

“SAMA is one of the pioneer central banks to experiment [with] blockchain technology for money transfers, this move is one of the key innovative initiatives launched by SAMA in its program to enable and develop Fintech in the Kingdom.”

The increased involvement of governments along with central banks in this field shows that blockchain is already playing an important role and that trend might continue, especially when it comes to adopting technology in finance.

The low transfer fees, fast speed of transaction and other factors are the main reason why the central bank of Saudi Arabia has decided to transfer funds to local banks. In the other reports, we can see other countries following the footsteps of the Middle Eastern bank.

Specifically, a major Turkish bank recently completed its first international trade finance transaction based on blockchain. In another report, we could see that almost 40% of the fintech firms operating in the country of Hong Kong were utilizing blockchain and the benefits of this distributed ledger technology.

It’s only a matter of time until other countries follow these footsteps, analyst note. If that happens soon, blockchain could help propel the crypto market towards new heights.