UAE Looks to Expand Cross Border Payments with Inclusion of New Currencies

Buna, a cross-border payment system based in the UAE, is set to expand to include currencies from India, China, Pakistan, and several African and European countries by 2024-2025. According to Fahad Al Turki, Chairman of the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organisation (Buna), the platform is committed to offering innovative services and has already launched several such as instant payment. The company is working to link the Buna platform with other payment methods from other countries, including China, India, and Pakistan, as well as continental payment systems in Europe and Africa.

The Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, believes that Buna's cross-border payment solution will encourage investment among Arab countries and encourage the use of Arab currencies in transactions. He added that this platform has a high level of compliance to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism and monitor such activities.

The system is already connected to 108 live banks across 14 countries, with an additional 105-plus banks set to onboard the platform. Currently, six currencies, including four from the Arab region, namely UAE dirham, Saudi riyal, Egyptian pound, and Jordanian dinar, as well as the US dollar and European single currency euro, are part of the platform, processing real-time funds transfer cost-effectively.

According to Mehdi Manna, CEO of Buna, cross-border payments are facing various challenges, including slowness, lack of transparency, and difficulty accessing. The company's primary objective is to resolve all these issues, with a particular focus on the Arab region, to enhance the economic integration within the region and empower the economies of the Arab countries.