- The Arab Monetary Fund has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard as part of a new push to improve cross-border payments in the Arab region as well as further afield.
- The arrangement will focus on the Buna system, which is a payments process operated by the Arab Monetary Fund.
- “With this initiative in place, Buna continues to showcase its relentless pursual of building global reach that benefit the financial community in the Arab world and beyond,” said a spokesperson for the Arab Monetary Fund.
The Arab Monetary Fund, a leading monetary fund in the Middle East, has confirmed that it will work alongside Mastercard as part of a new push towards improved cross-border payments.
The goal of the new arrangement, which is governed by a memorandum of understanding, looks to create interoperability between the systems run by the two organisations.
The payments affected by the change will include payments made within the Arab areas and also further afield, according to press reports.
The Buna system, which is a payment process run by the Arab Monetary Fund, will be included in the arrangement.
This system promotes the sending and receipt of payments in a number of global currencies.
In a statement, the Director General Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund said that interoperability between the two organisations reflected what is known as a “strategic milestone”.
Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy said that the move would help add to investment and commercial ties in the Arab commercial zone.
“Achieving interoperability between Buna and Mastercard represents a strategic milestone in Buna’s plan to contribute to the growth of commercial and investment ties across the Arab region and with global markets,” he said.
He went on to say that the new initiative would mean that Buna could help with “building global reach”.
“With this initiative in place, Buna continues to showcase its relentless pursual of building global reach that benefit the financial community in the Arab world and beyond,” he explained.
He also clarified that the two organisations would work together to help “add value” to the systems they already have set up.
“Both Buna and Mastercard will capitalize on this partnership to add value to their respective ecosystems, by creating innovative solutions, in the cross-border and multi-currency payment field, that are diversified, efficient, easy to access,” he said.
For Mastercard, meanwhile, a spokesperson there said that the demand for digital payments was skyrocketing – and that this was reflected in the figures.
“With 95% of consumers in the Middle East and Africa embracing the power of digital payment technologies, it is crucial that we build infrastructure that enables the seamless movement of money,” said Khalid Elgibali, who is the Division President of MENA.
“Our partnership with AMF will serve to boost cross-border trade in the region and connect governments, businesses and consumers faster than ever before,” he added.
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