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ila Bank joins BUNA for cross-currency transactions

Monday 8 January 2024 13:15 CET | News

Bahrain-based ila Bank, a digital mobile-only bank powered by Bank ABC, has joined the Arab payment system BUNA.

 

Through this cross-border and multi-currency payment system founded by the Arab Monetary Fund, ila aims to provide its customers with secure, fast, cost-effective, and transparent multicurrency payment services. Currently, ila customers can transfer in AED, but more currencies are to be added later for transactions and remittances, according to the official announcement.

ila Bank provides its customers with an empowered banking experience. To meet customers' fast-evolving needs, the bank partners with industry experts and initiatives that facilitate a digital economic ecosystem in the region. As per an official statement, the bank's association with BUNA strengthens its cross-currency transfer offering due to its multi-currency accounts capabilities. Replying to this, BUNA stated that the collaboration with Bank ABC group strengthens and facilitates international trade and investment within the Arab region and with the main global partners.

As part of its previous portfolio expanding projects, in October 2023, ila Bank improved its payment capabilities by integrating with Samsung Wallet, allowing greater convenience and security for its customers. This collaboration expanded ila Bank's payment options, enabling debit, credit, and prepaid cardholders to utilise Samsung Wallet for transactions. The primary objective was to offer a secure and user-friendly method for ila Bank's cardholders to conduct transactions seamlessly while on the move.

Bahrain-based ila Bank, a digital mobile-only bank powered by Bank ABC, has joined the Arab payment system BUNA.

 

More about the Arab Regional Payment System (BUNA)

BUNA is a platform that enables financial institutions and central banks in the Arab region and beyond, to send and receive payments, established under a mandate by the Council of Governors of the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Authorities, it aims to support further economic and financial integration between Arab countries. It also aims to expand trade and investment activities with global trading partners.

BUNA is also a regional cross-border and multi-currency payment system that supports Arab transactions in trade, investment, and financial transfers in eligible Arab and international currencies throughout the region and beyond. This system is dedicated to offering clearing and settlement services for payments in various currencies across the Middle East, delivering time-adapted payment solutions aligned with international standards, principles, and compliance requirements.

Thus, this system aims to create a central routing agent to provide a standardised payment experience across Arab countries. With a common set of operating rules and a standardised SWIFT platform, BUNA would bring together the markets of the GCC, Middle East, and North Africa for all intra-regional payments, covering not just the fiat currencies of the Arab countries but also key principally traded currencies such as the USD and EUR. Currently, it has 100 participants covering six currencies. Shortly, BUNA aims to further expand the platform by introducing instant and real-time delivery of pan-regional cross-border payments and providing the rails to support other financial market infrastructures.

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Keywords: cross-border payments, financial services, transactions , digital banking, mobile banking
Categories: Payments & Commerce
Companies: Buna, ila Bank
Countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
This article is part of category

Payments & Commerce

Buna

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ila Bank

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