Visa, Mastercard begin first Syria global card payments in years
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Syrian central bank governor Safwat Raslan posted a video on social media of himself and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa buying coffee at a Damascus cafe by card.
SCREENSHOT: @SAFWATRASLAN/X
- Visa and Mastercard processed Syria’s first international card payments in over 15 years, marking a key step in modernising the country’s payment system.
- This follows the US removing Syria from its state sponsors of terrorism list, easing economic restrictions and signalling warmer ties.
- Syrian officials expressed hope this will end economic isolation, attract investment, and support the country's post-war rebuilding efforts.
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DAMASCUS - Visa and Mastercard said they had carried out their first international card payments in Syria in more than a decade, days after Washington delisted the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Mastercard said in a statement that it and Qatar National Bank (QNB) Group “have processed Syria’s first international card payment in more than 15 years, marking an important milestone in the modernisation of Syria’s payments ecosystem”.
Visa in a statement on Aug 26 said it had “tested the first live international transaction in Syria”, also hailing “an important milestone in supporting the country’s financial services sector”.
It said the move came in cooperation with Lebanon’s Fransabank, which it called “the acquiring financial institution”, and with local electronic payments company Paymera.
Paymera said on Aug 27 that it had carried out the first electronic payment using Visa.
Since the December 2024 ousting of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, several Western countries have lifted sanctions imposed on the country after its nearly 14-year civil war erupted in 2011.
On Aug 24, the United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, rescinding a decades-old designation that came with severe economic restrictions and marking another step in warming ties between the countries.
The Visa statement said the test was “the start of a historic step towards expanding digital payment capabilities in the market and providing international visitors with a familiar, secure, and convenient way to make payment”.
Central bank governor Safwat Raslan late on Aug 26 posted a video on social media of himself with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who paid for coffee at a Damascus cafe by card.
The central bank chief described it as “the first payment made using a Visa card in the heart of Damascus” after Syria’s removal from the state sponsors of terrorism list.
“It is a feeling which is hard to put into words,” he said, calling it “a new beginning in which we carry great hope, and responsibility too.”
“We will keep working ceaselessly to build a modern, trusted, open financial system that keeps up with Syrians’ aspirations and opens up new opportunities for them,” he added.
After the civil war erupted, sanctions cut Syria off from the international banking system, with a ban imposed on dealing with the country’s central bank whose assets were frozen.
Damascus hopes this week’s de-listing will help end Syria’s economic isolation and strengthen its integration into the global economic and financial system, as well as attract investment and support development as the country seeks to rebuild. AFP
