In a landmark collaboration facilitated by Bahrain Fintech Bay, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), Bahrain Islamic Bank (BISB), Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK), and Benefit executed instant payments using digital commercial bank money between their clients on Google Cloud Universal Ledger. Supported by the Economic Development Board, this initiative strengthens Bahrain’s position as a regional leader in payment innovation, a cornerstone of its vision to become a global fintech hub.
High-value transactions in Bahraini Dinar between major enterprises such as Alba and Bapco Energies were executed and settled instantly and securely in a controlled test environment, proving the platform’s potential to:
- Reduce Costs: Lower transaction and operational overhead.
- Enhance Security: Provide programmable, transparent, and secure digital payments.
- Operate 24/7: Eliminate traditional settlement delays and operating hour restrictions.
This achievement solidifies Bahrain’s position as a regional leader in financial innovation. It provides a clear blueprint for enhancing the efficiency of both high-volume domestic and cross-border transactions, a key objective in the Kingdom’s strategy to build a world-class financial ecosystem.
The technology at the core, Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), is a high-throughput distributed ledger built for financial services that brings the efficiency of 24/7, real-time transactions to traditional money and assets. GCUL is designed specifically for financial services to simplify account management, streamline global transfers, and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, without reducing participating banks’ deposits or lending. GCUL empowers institutions to build and launch innovative new client services on Google Cloud’s secure and scalable infrastructure.
Bahrain is ready to scale the initiative to additional banks in the Kingdom, creating a fully interoperable regional payment ecosystem. The next phase will focus on expanding participation to more financial institutions and players. It will also enable cross-border, multi-currency transactions at scale, developing point-of-sale integrations for consumers.
As banks embrace innovation to enhance services for both customers and institutional clients, initiatives like Google Cloud Universal Ledger help unlock transformative benefits, spanning payments, transparency, compliance, and trust. Customers gain 24/7 availability, near-instant settlements, and significantly lower transaction fees, while institutional clients benefit from streamlined treasury management, end-to-end visibility of the payment lifecycle, improved compliance and auditing, tokenization opportunities, and enhanced interoperability.
This successful pilot is just the beginning. The clear road map ahead involves scaling the platform by onboarding more financial institutions and corporate clients, moving from controlled testing to live operations across the region, and ultimately launching a full market rollout.
Bahrain maintains its position as the ideal place for testing the latest fintech solutions, reinforcing its standing as a frontrunner in financial innovation worldwide, further highlighting the Kingdom’s commitment to Vision 2030. Central to this achievement is Bahrain Fintech Bay, which coordinated the pilot and played a pivotal role in connecting Google Cloud with local banks, regulators, and stakeholders, thus driving innovation and foreign direct investment into the Kingdom.
- Participants: Benefit, NBB, BISB, BBK, (Alba, Bapco Energies)
- Coordinator: Bahrain Fintech Bay
- Technology Partner: Google CloudÂ
 Ghassan Kosta, Regional General Manager, Google Cloud Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Iraq said: “This pilot in Bahrain is a landmark achievement. Through the implementation of Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), we are actively supporting the country’s strategic vision for digital transformation. This pilot successfully demonstrated the foundational use case of a BHD transfer between three banks. By leveraging GCUL, the pilot participants have proven the potential for instantaneous, 24/7 settlement, while simultaneously reducing costs and operational risks. This foundational work establishes a crucial blueprint that can be scaled to handle more complex cross-border and multi-currency transactions, cementing GCUL’s position as the payment rail infrastructure provider of choice for the entire region.”
Ashish Majmundar, Director, Global Head of FSI Practice, Google Cloud: “This pilot in Bahrain represents a significant milestone, not just for the region, but for the future of global payments. The successful implementation of Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) actively supports Bahrain’s strategic vision for digital transformation while simultaneously establishing a blueprint for the digital transfer of value that can be applied globally. This foundational work makes an instant, programmable Bahraini Dinar a reality and provides a scalable platform upon which partners can launch new currencies and assets. By leveraging GCUL, the pilot participants have established a model that can be scaled quickly to handle complex multi-currency transactions across the world, establishing GCUL as the future foundational payment infrastructure globally.
Abdulwahed AlJanahi, Chief Executive at BENEFIT: “At BENEFIT, we are committed to advancing Bahrain’s financial infrastructure through innovation and collaboration. This pilot with Google Cloud and our partner banks demonstrates the transformative potential of digital commercial bank money in delivering instant, secure, and transparent payments. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, we are not only enhancing efficiency and trust across the ecosystem, but also paving the way for scalable, interoperable solutions that strengthen Bahrain’s role as a regional and global fintech hub.”
Bahrain Fintech Bay – Bader Sater, Chief Executive Officer: “Bahrain is cementing its role as a regional leader in next-generation fintech and payment space, and the GCUL Project reflects how #TeamBahrain unites to accelerate progress. This milestone is the beginning of a longer-term commitment to advancing innovation within the payments sector, with Bahrain positioned as a trusted platform for global firms to bring their latest solutions to the market.”
Usman Ahmed, Group Chief Executive Officer, NBB, commented, “The completion of this pilot represents an important step in exploring the future of digital financial infrastructure in our region. By working on Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger technology, we were able to test tokenisation capabilities that could help shape more secure, scalable, and efficient settlement processes. This collaborative effort with Bahrain Fintech Bay and the Bahrain Economic Development Board has provided us with valuable insights into how such opportunities may evolve in time to support both domestic and cross-border payment solutions. As we continue to assess these opportunities, NBB Group remains committed to enhancing Bahrain’s digital readiness and supporting national initiatives that position the Kingdom at the forefront of financial technology advancement.”
Fatema AlAlawi, Chief Executive Officer, BisB: “Participating in this pilot has allowed us to explore how modern settlement infrastructure can support a more connected and real-time banking experience. As a digital-first Islamic bank, we see value in actively engaging with technologies that have the potential to transform the way financial institutions collaborate and operate. This initiative provided us a unique opportunity to contribute to the region’s innovation ecosystem, while gaining practical insights into how next-generation platforms can serve the needs of a dynamic and fast-changing financial services landscape”.
Yaser Alsharifi, Group Chief Executive of BBK: “The financial services sector is entering a pivotal stage, where cloud innovation, tokenization, and advanced settlement frameworks are redefining the way economies operate. At BBK Group, innovation and technology lie at the core of our strategy to ensure sustainable growth and strengthen long-term competitiveness. Our collaboration with Google Cloud represents a strategic step in advancing this vision, as we continue to invest in solutions that reinforce Bahrain’s digital ecosystem and align with the Kingdom’s future aspirations. By piloting Universal Ledger technology in cooperation with the Bahrain Economic Development Board and Bahrain Fintech Bay, we are building greater capacity to establish scalable, secure, and efficient financial infrastructure. We extend our sincere appreciation to our national partners for their invaluable support and collaboration, which have been instrumental in positioning Bahrain as a regional leader in financial innovation. This initiative reaffirms our conviction that the Gulf’s next phase of growth will be driven by trusted, cloud-enabled ecosystems that transcend borders, foster innovation, and deliver lasting value for generations to come.”
Alba – Ali AlBaqali, CEO, commented, “This pilot isn’t just a milestone for Alba, it’s a leap forward for Bahrain’s digital economy. By executing instant, secure payments with Bapco Energies on Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger, we are proving that the future of finance is here, and Alba is proud to help lead the way.”
Mark Thomas, Group Chief Executive Officer at Bapco Energies, said: “As the Kingdom’s integrated energy group, we are proud to have been part of this pioneering pilot. The successful execution of real-time, tokenized payments demonstrates how advanced financial technologies can integrate seamlessly into the operations of large enterprises. At Bapco Energies, we see this as an important step in enhancing speed, efficiency, security, and innovation across our operations, while supporting Bahrain’s broader vision of digital leadership.”
