Mastercard and QNB Group to Expand Digital Payments in Syria

Mastercard has granted a license to QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, to extend its issuing and acquiring activities in Syria, a move intended to modernize the nation’s digital payments infrastructure.

The agreement, posted in a news release on Monday (Jan. 5), allows QNB to provide Mastercard payment solutions that are accepted both locally and internationally to individuals and businesses in Syria. This development follows a memorandum of understanding signed in September between Mastercard and the Central Bank of Syria, which focused on upgrading the country’s digital payment capabilities.

Adam Jones, division president for West Arabia at Mastercard, described the company as an “early investor” in a market undergoing transformation. “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,” Jones said. He noted that the initiative supports the country’s economic progress while adhering to regulatory and compliance standards.

Yousef Mahmoud Al-Neama, QNB’s group chief business officer, stated that the expansion aligns with the bank’s strategic plans for the region. Al-Neama characterized the Syrian market as “economically promising,” citing ongoing development and modernization within the local banking sector.

This expansion arrives amid a broader push to rebuild financial infrastructure in the Middle East. According to a Dec. 12 industry analysis by PYMNTS, digital payments are increasingly viewed by regional governments and global firms as essential “foundational infrastructure” rather than mere consumer conveniences. For post-sanction economies like Syria, these systems are prerequisites for restoring access to remittances, foreign investment and cross-border trade.

Mastercard is not the only major player reentering the market. As PYMNTS reported in December, Visa announced a partnership with the Central Bank of Syria to launch a “phased digitization plan,” aiming to introduce payment cards and digital wallets adhering to global standards. Leila Serhan, a senior vice president at Visa, characterized transparent payment systems as the “bedrock of economic recovery” capable of helping the country “leapfrog decades of legacy infrastructure development.”

These efforts follow the reported resumption of Syria’s access to the Swift financial messaging network in June, which enabled the country’s first international bank transfer since the onset of civil conflict in 2011. Data from the World Economic Forum indicates that digital transaction volumes in the wider region are projected to grow at double-digit rates, driven by such government-backed initiatives and modernization efforts.