World Bank approves $100 million grant for the modernization of Syria's financial sector

The World Bank has approved a $100 million grant to modernize the financial sector in Syria. According to the statement from the Bank, the decision was made by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on August 6.

The grant, sourced from the International Development Association (IDA), will be used under the "Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project." The project aims to make financial transactions more secure, fast, and transparent, and to establish infrastructure that will increase access to financial services.

The statement noted that after 14 years of conflict, the financial sector in Syria remains small-scale, bank-centric, and dependent on cash usage. It was stated that inadequacies in digital payment infrastructure, along with issues in supervision and financial stability, have increased transaction costs, made access to finance difficult, and limited the country's ability to reconnect with international financial channels.

Within the scope of the project, it is planned to renew basic financial infrastructure, strengthen the banking sector, and improve supervisory mechanisms. Increasing the operational capacities of the Central Bank of Syria and the Financial Intelligence Unit is also among the areas to be supported.

The World Bank announced that investments will be made in a technology environment covering payment systems, financial market infrastructure, and credit infrastructure for secure and efficient financial flows. The core banking system, information technology, and cybersecurity capacity of the Central Bank of Syria will also be strengthened under the project.

The Bank's goals include making the financial sector's core systems operational, processing at least 15 million electronic retail payment transactions per year, and ensuring that at least 500 thousand individuals and businesses, including 150 thousand women, actively use digital payments.