BBK showcases Advanced Digital Ledger Solutions with ARRAY Innovation at Fintech Forward 2026

12 Oct 2026

BBK, a leader in retail and corporate banking in the Kingdom of Bahrain, showcased its Google Cloud Universal Ledger pilot at Fintech Forward 2026. The project is being delivered in collaboration with ARRAY Innovation, the Bahrain-based AI and cloud-native digital solutions firm and a portfolio company of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. It explores the use of advanced digital ledger technology within BBK’s core banking operations, with potential applications in tokenized payments and programmable settlement.
The pilot project explores how advanced digital ledger technology can be used within BBK’s core banking operations to support tokenized payments and programmable settlement.
Mr. Yaser Alsharifi, Group Chief Executive Officer of BBK, stated: “Fintech Forward 2026 provides a valuable opportunity to present our pilot to banking leaders and technology specialists and draw on their experience. Our focus is on the value these technologies can bring to customers and their potential to support services that meet their needs, and the collaboration with ARRAY reflects BBK’s disciplined approach to innovation, with rigorous evaluation and testing to establish a clear business case before adoption.”
Mr. Alaa Saeed, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ARRAY Innovation, said: “We are proud to showcase this project alongside BBK and Google at Fintech Forward and highlight our team’s role in implementing and testing the platform’s integration with existing banking systems. This work requires engineering expertise, deep knowledge of smart contracts and a thorough understanding of the Bank’s operational requirements. Presenting the pilot also allows us to demonstrate the capabilities of Bahraini talent in delivering advanced financial technology projects, drawing on their experience in payments and cloud computing.”
Dr. James Tromans, Managing Director leading the Web 3 and Digital Assets business at Google Cloud, said: “Tokenized money and near-real-time settlement unlock liquidity, reduce transaction costs, and build direct, 24/7 cross-border corridors. BBK and Array successfully integrated the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) with the Bank’s core cash management systems in a user acceptance test environment. This success highlights GCUL’s capability to power the next generation of scalable, secure, and compliant digital financial infrastructure in the Kingdom and the broader region.”
The showcase gave financial institutions and industry specialists an opportunity to learn about the pilot’s objectives and the technical and operational considerations involved in its implementation. Google Cloud Universal Ledger is a multi-currency, programmable distributed ledger platform designed for financial institutions, with support for smart contract-enabled transactions.
The pilot draws on BBK’s more than five decades of banking experience and its understanding of a broad customer base, supported by Google Cloud’s neutral, globally scalable ledger infrastructure and ARRAY Innovation’s implementation expertise. The Bank is exploring opportunities to reduce settlement costs, enable round-the-clock settlement and make transaction processing more flexible. The project also lays the groundwork for potential digital assets and tokenized finance services as part of BBK’s investment in modernizing its core banking infrastructure.