Buna, Benefit sign MoU to facilitate cross-border payments

Abdulwahed AlJanahi, Chief Executive of Benefit, and Mehdi Manaa, Chief Executive Officer of Buna, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aiming to interlink their payment services—Buna and Bahrain electronic transfer services.

The MoU was signed at a ceremony hosted by the AMF and was held under the patronage of Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and Dr Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al Hamidy, Chairman of the Board of ARPCSO.

A press release shared by Zawya stated that the aim is to connect to a network of instant payments services through cutting-edge systems that facilitate instant transfer of cross-border payments, at all times. The companies' focus is also on executing this while following the highest international compliance standards. 

The joint venture aims to simplify execution of cross-border payments between Bahrain and the Arab world and reinforce various use cases such as consumer remittances and digital commerce. This comes as an opportunity to enhance the overall economic integration and strengthen economic ties within the Arab world.

Mehdi Manaa, CEO of Buna, commented, “This key collaboration with Benefit reinforces Buna’s adherence to progress further in the creation of a strategic hub that connects different national instant payment systems from the Arab region and beyond.”

Abdulwahed AlJanahi, CEO of Benefit, felt the innovative initiative will contribute to enhancing and accelerating trade exchange and individual remittances between the countries of the Arab region.

Benefit is the operator of the national electronic payment systems in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Buna is a cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organisation (ARPCSO), which is owned by Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).