Saudi Arabia Exits China-Linked mBridge as Alipay+ Expands Chinese Tourist Payments in 2026

While the mBridge payments project is losing members, there are major developments happening in the kingdom’s payments space. Saudi Arabia’s exit from the mBridge project signals a shift from focusing on payments via the Chinese digital yuan. Meanwhile, the Alipay+ payment system will be more widely available to customers in 2026. While the mBridge project is focused on payments via central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Alipay+ is focused on consumer payments. The Saudi Central Bank is working on a project to allow visitors using Alipay+ to pay at merchants using the local payment system mada. As cross border tourism to Saudi Arabia grows, the Central Bank wants visitors to be able to make payments digitally.(Saudi Central Bank)

Saudi Arabia’s mBridge story began with cross-border banking, not tourist payments

The most important distinction for travellers is that mBridge and Alipay+ perform very different functions.

SAMA officially joined mBridge in June 2024 as a participant in its Minimum Viable Product platform. The central bank described mBridge as a multi-central-bank wholesale digital currency system intended to facilitate cross-border payments between commercial banks in different jurisdictions. (Saudi Central Bank)

The Bank for International Settlements says the project brought together monetary authorities from Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia joining in 2024. Its distributed-ledger platform was designed to explore instant cross-border payments and settlement and address problems including cost, speed and operational complexity. (Bank for International Settlements)

That means mBridge was not an app that Chinese holidaymakers could open at a restaurant in Riyadh or a hotel in AlUla. It operated at the institutional payment level.

This distinction is central to understanding why the reported Saudi withdrawal does not mean Chinese visitors are losing their everyday digital-payment access in the Kingdom.

Alipay+ is moving in the opposite direction for Saudi visitors

Saudi Arabia is simultaneously expanding consumer-facing international payment connectivity.

In September 2025, the Saudi Central Bank and Ant International signed an agreement to introduce Alipay+ acceptance through Saudi Arabia’s national mada payment system during 2026. SAMA specifically said visitors and users of international digital wallets connected to Alipay+ would be able to make purchases at merchants providing the service. (Saudi Central Bank)

Saudi Central Bank Alipay+ announcement

This gives the tourism story a very different dimension from the institutional mBridge development.

For eligible international visitors, the practical issue is whether their wallet is supported and whether the Saudi merchant accepts the service. The mBridge development does not, on the official evidence currently available, cancel or alter SAMA’s separate Alipay+ agreement.

Saudi Arabia is already becoming a heavily digital payment market

Alipay+ is entering a domestic market where electronic payments have become mainstream.

SAMA announced in 2026 that electronic payments represented 85% of total retail payments in Saudi Arabia during 2025, up from 79% in 2024. Electronic transactions reached 14.6 billion, compared with 12.6 billion a year earlier. (Saudi Central Bank)

Source: Saudi Central Bank. (Saudi Central Bank)

The figures explain why Chinese tourist payments matter beyond fintech. Hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions increasingly operate in an environment where visitors expect the same quick digital transactions they use at home.

mada sits at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s visitor-payment strategy

The key infrastructure behind the Alipay+ expansion is mada.

SAMA describes mada as its national payment system, connecting point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and e-commerce channels to central infrastructure that routes transactions to card issuers. This gives Saudi Arabia an established domestic network through which international payment services can be integrated. (Saudi Central Bank)

The Alipay+ agreement is not the only example.

In February 2025, SAMA announced that mada was ready to support JCB International cards at point-of-sale terminals and ATMs. The central bank explicitly linked the initiative to improving payment convenience for international visitors. (Saudi Central Bank)

SAMA also agreed with Google in January 2025 to introduce Google Pay through mada. Together, these measures show a broader policy direction: widening digital-payment choice rather than relying on a single international network. (Saudi Central Bank)

Why payment convenience matters as Saudi tourism expands

The payments push is unfolding alongside substantial tourism growth.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025 records 123 million tourists in 2025, including more than 30 million international visitors. It also reports tourism spending of US$81 billion and reiterates the Kingdom’s ambition to reach 150 million visitors by 2030. (Saudi Vision 2030)

Source: Saudi Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025. (Saudi Vision 2030)

Saudi tourism has also widened geographically. The Vision 2030 report points to destinations including AlUla, Diriyah, Aseer and the Red Sea coast as part of a broader move beyond the Kingdom’s historic pilgrimage market. (Saudi Vision 2030)

For international tourism businesses, payment compatibility becomes more important as visitor volumes and destinations increase. Spending no longer occurs only at airports and major city hotels, but across restaurants, attractions, shops, transport providers and emerging destinations.

Tourism jobs show the wider economic stakes

Tourism’s labour footprint also demonstrates why improving the visitor economy has consequences beyond traveller convenience.

The General Authority for Statistics reported 959,175 people employed in tourism activities in the second quarter of 2024, 5.1% more than a year earlier. Tourism activities represented 5.7% of total employment in the economy during that quarter. (Saudi Statistics Authority)

Payment infrastructure does not by itself create tourism employment. However, efficient transaction systems form part of the operating environment used by the businesses employing those workers.

Hotels, retailers, restaurants and tourism attractions benefit operationally when international customers have several recognised ways to pay.

Saudi Arabia is widening its tourism payment ecosystem

There have been further changes since the original Alipay+ announcement.

On 15 September 2026, SAMA announced the gradual reciprocal acceptance of Saudi mada cards in Qatar and Qatar’s HIMYAN cards in Saudi Arabia. The central bank said the arrangement supports wider GCC payment integration. (Saudi Central Bank)

Saudi Arabia has also approved the use of the Ministry of Interior-issued Visitor ID for opening bank accounts, subject to banking rules. SAMA said the September 2025 change was intended to improve visitors’ access to banking services and advance financial inclusion and digital transformation. (Saudi Central Bank)

Taken together, these policies reveal a payment strategy operating on several levels: domestic digitalisation, international card acceptance, global wallets and regional GCC interoperability.

What the Alipay+ rollout means for travellers

The immediate traveller-facing development is straightforward.

SAMA says users of international digital wallets connected to Alipay+ will be able to make payments and purchases at Saudi merchants providing the service. That final qualification matters: the announcement does not state that every merchant in Saudi Arabia will automatically accept every Alipay+-linked wallet. (Saudi Central Bank)

Travellers should therefore check wallet eligibility and merchant acceptance rather than assuming universal coverage.

Visitors can also expect a broader electronic-payment environment. With 85% of Saudi retail payments already electronic in 2025, digital transactions are firmly established across the Kingdom. (Saudi Central Bank)

Airlines hotels and tourism businesses face a changing payment landscape

For airlines, hotels and tour operators, the development is primarily about the consumer checkout experience rather than mBridge itself.

A visitor able to use a familiar wallet can potentially move through different parts of a trip without changing payment habits. That can cover eligible purchases at participating accommodation providers, shops, restaurants or tourism businesses.

The Saudi Tourism Authority is separately working with Mastercard under an August 2026 agreement covering international tourism campaigns, visitor-spending analysis, travel trends and consumer behaviour. The collaboration is intended to support Saudi Arabia’s 150-million-visitor ambition. (Mastercard)

This again illustrates the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s tourism-payment ecosystem rather than dependence on one platform.

Future direction is clear even as the mBridge position needs official clarification

The official record provides firm evidence of Saudi Arabia’s direction on retail digital payments.

SAMA is expanding international payment acceptance, integrating services with mada and pursuing a less cash-dependent economy. Alipay+ is part of that programme, alongside other payment networks and wallets. (Saudi Central Bank)

What should not yet be inferred is that the reported mBridge departure represents a retreat from China, digital currencies or international payment connectivity. No searchable SAMA announcement reviewed for this article sets out such a motive.

For tourism, the confirmed development is simpler and more immediately relevant: Alipay+ Saudi Arabia remains part of the Kingdom’s announced 2026 visitor-payment programme.

FAQs for travellers

Will Chinese tourists be able to use Alipay+ in Saudi Arabia in 2026?

SAMA says Alipay+ acceptance is scheduled to become available through mada during 2026. Visitors using eligible international wallets connected to the Alipay+ network will be able to pay at merchants that provide the service. (Saudi Central Bank)

Does the reported mBridge exit stop tourists using Alipay+?

No such connection has been announced by SAMA. mBridge is a wholesale central-bank digital currency project aimed at institutional cross-border settlement, while Alipay+ is being integrated separately for consumer payments through mada. (Bank for International Settlements)

Will every shop hotel and restaurant in Saudi Arabia accept Alipay+?

SAMA does not promise universal acceptance. Its announcement says payments will be possible at stores providing the service, so travellers should confirm acceptance with individual merchants. (Saudi Central Bank)

Conclusion

The recent changes to Saudi Arabia’s partnership with mBridge should not be confused with its advancements to its visitor-payment network. Separate and at the same time, SAMA continues to invest in digital payments for the residents and international visitors. The use of Alipay+ through the mada payment system between 2026 and 2030 further facilitates visitor payments. With the goal of welcoming 150 million visitors between 2030, Saudi Arabia is well positioned to meet that goal by enabling a digital and cashless economy to support tourism. Currently, it is estimated that 85% of all retail payments will be cashless by 2025.(Saudi Central Bank)