admin The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) will join forces with Mastercard in facilitating the growth of payment activities across the Arab region and beyond.
Details on the Collaboration
The AMF’s latest move is subsequent to a similar MoU signed with Visa in August to drive cross-border payments between the Arab region and global markets. As part of the MoU, Visa will work with AMF’s regional payment platform Buna to enable additional rails of money transfer across the two systems to drive cross-border payments between the Arab region and the rest of the world.
The joint initiative of Buna and Mastercard is in line with both entities’ strategic objectives to promote financial inclusion and cater to the growing needs of consumers and corporates for easy, reliable, and modern access to payment solutions.
Improving Cross-Border Payments
The interoperability between the two systems represents a solid proof of their intention to contribute positively to the global efforts that aim at improving cross-border payments efficiency and accessibility, the AMF said.
Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy, director general, and chairman of the board of the AMF, stressed the strategic aspects of this cooperation and the important value it delivers to the financial community in the Arab region and beyond. “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,” said Al Hamidy.
Both Buna and Mastercard are better-positioned to capitalise 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. “The aim is to achieve better risk control and to cater to the strategic and evolving needs of the financial and payment community in the Arab region and beyond,” said Al Hamidy.
Promoting the AMF
The AMF, in collaboration with the Arab Central Banks, has been seeking to promote Arab Regional Payment System (APRS) as an innovative approach to current cross-border payment challenges, a solution to promote and facilitate regional and international trade, and a more appropriate response to the increasing pressure that the Arab region is facing.
“With 95 per cent 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, division president, Mena region, Mastercard.
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