The Central Bank of the UAE and the Monetary Authority of Singapore are planning to widen their cooperation to include central bank digital currencies, QR-code-based cross-border payments and green finance, following talks held in Bangkok during the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.

Ahmed Saeed Al Qamzi, assistant governor for Banking and Insurance Supervision at the Central Bank of the UAE, said the two institutions were seeking to build on a relationship that has lasted for more than 17 years. The expanded work will focus particularly on payment and settlement arrangements across borders.

“Our partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore spans more than 17 years, and we are now looking to broaden it to new areas, particularly cross-border payment and settlement solutions. This will help facilitate trade and investment flows between our two countries and deliver benefits to businesses and individuals alike,” Al Qamzi said.

He added: “We believe that closer knowledge exchange between our institutions will help us keep pace with the rapid transformation of the global financial sector.”

The UAE delegation included Ebrahim Obaid Al Zaabi, assistant governor for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, and Mohamed Hussain Al Marzooqi, head of International and Domestic Affairs. They met Leong Sing Chiong, MAS deputy managing director for Markets and Development, along with senior officials from the Singapore regulator.

Digital Dirham plans

The CBDC discussions come as the UAE develops the Digital Dirham. The CBUAE has said the currency will use a two-tier structure, under which the central bank issues the digital currency while licensed financial institutions make it available to users through digital wallets.

The central bank has also said it completed a successful real-value retail pilot and intends to proceed with a phased launch. When it introduced the new dirham symbol in March 2025, the CBUAE said the Digital Dirham wallet would be designed to support retail, wholesale and cross-border payments.

Trade and investment links provide the backdrop to the latest discussions. Bilateral non-oil trade between the UAE and Singapore reached $6.54 billion in 2025, a 25.3 per cent increase from $5.2 billion in 2024. The UAE is Singapore’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, while UAE direct investment in Singapore totalled $5.12 billion between 2021 and 2025.