Bahrain commits to pioneering payments

Payments are a crucial part of FinTech, as traditional banking systems become increasingly digitised with consumers doing more and more online. In recognition of this, Bahrain’s key financial players have kicked off a series of roundtables on the development of the Kingdom’s payments infrastructure.

The talks involve Bahrain’s primary payments providers such as Benefit, who operate the nation’s network for electronic financial transactions, as well as Arab Financial Services (AFS), NEC Payments and Sadad. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), a regulatory role model for the region, and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) are also participants.

The roundtables discuss the ways to advance Bahrain’s existing payments infrastructure through the implementation of regulations that support innovation, and form initiatives accordingly to see these regulations realized.

Read on below to see what initiatives are currently in the works as a result of these roundtables, and what that means for you.

New opportunities for you: At the heart of a region in which the FinTech industry is projected to boom in the coming years, Bahrain is pushing forward with initiatives will make it become the Gulf’s FinTech hub. These initiatives will unlock opportunities for international Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and payments support services to meet Bahrain’s growing demand for payments solutions. Spearheaded by the EDB, current initiatives include: ·       Know Your Customer (KYC) Regulation: Introducing regulation that supports a risk-based, tiered-KYC approach and permits outsourcing of KYC activities to third-parties ·       Acquirer Model: Making it easier for Independent Service Organisations (ISOs) and PSPs to fill gaps in the current acquirer model Contact the EDB on investorenquiries@bahrainedb.com to find out more >