Syria has been building back its payment landscape through a digital transformation with Mastercard and QNB Group the latest to support the country’s strategy.
Mastercard awarded QNB Group an acquiring and issuing license on January 5, enabling Mastercard payment solutions across Syria.
The license will allow QNB, a Qatar-based commercial banking company, to facilitate local and international payments for Syrian individuals and businesses to support the country’s digital transformation push.
Mastercard and QNB stated they will work together to improve the digital banking experience for Syrian banks and customers, as well as creating more financial inclusion opportunities through a digital payment infrastructure which intends to support speed and security.
Both companies identified Syria as a “high potential market”, one that has been calling on the services of major players like Mastercard, who signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Bank of Syria in September 2024 to support its digitisation payment strategy.
“At Mastercard, we are deepening our commitment to Syria as early investors in a market undergoing meaningful transformation,” said Adam Jones, Division President of West Arabia at Mastercard.
“By empowering our partner banks, we are enabling millions of citizens to access modern financial services and laying the foundations for a robust, future-ready payments ecosystem. Our work supports the country’s vision for sustainable economic progress, delivered with full respect for regulatory and compliance standards.”
Syria’s digital transformation roadmap
Since the election of President Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa and the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria and its central bank have continued to push for a more modern, digital-focused payment landscape.
In June 2024, Syria performed its first SWIFT transaction – its first since 2011 – rejoining the global payment ecosystem. Following this, in November that same year, the International Monetary Fund provided technical assistance in rehabilitating Syria’s payment and banking systems to enable monetary policy growth and change.
Al-Sharaa’s Presidency has since seen the removal of economic sanctions previously placed against the country. The US removed its sanctions in June 2025 to allow transactions to and from the country, but sanctions against Bashar al-Assad and his associates remain intact.
A month prior in May 2025, the European Union lifted its economic sanctions designed to support Syria’s economic growth with the UK lifting its sanctions in April 2025 after businesses “expressed interest in exploring doing business in Syria”.
Key players taking note
Mastercard’s MoU with the Central Bank of Syria committed to advance the country’s digital payments capabilities, while ensuring transfer of knowledge to banks and payment providers.
“With its global network, customized technology solutions, and in-depth knowledge of the payments landscape, Mastercard is one of our most important strategic partners in building a robust financial system in Syria,” said Abdulkader Husrieh, Governor of the Central Bank of Syria during the signing of the MoU.
Three months later in December 2025, Visa announced a partnership with the Central Bank of Syria to provide its range of digital wallets that support EMV chips, tokenisation and Tap to Phone payment technology to further support Syria’s digital economy.
A new currency
Through these partnerships with the two largest payment processors in the world, Husrieh announced on December 30, 2025 a five-pillar roadmap plan from 2026 to 2030 in order to achieve an “international financial integration” of all digital payment solutions.
A part of this plan involves the development of a new Syrian currency, focusing on the removal of two zeros from the Syrian Pound, meaning for every 100 Syrian Pounds, it will be converted into 1 for the new currency.
The new currency will be free of charge and bans commission fees and/or taxes. It will become available to all Syrian citizens to be converted for capital prices, salaries, etc., and all private and public businesses are required to sign up for the official conversion rate.
“The launch of the new currency is not a formal measure, but a pivotal milestone within a comprehensive strategy based on solid institutional foundations,” said Husrieh.
The new currency falls under the monetary stability pillar of the five-pillar roadmap, with the other four pillars including secure digital transformation, balanced international economic relations, accountable financial institutions and transparent foreign-exchnage market activity.
