Buna and Standard Chartered celebrate euro real-time payments in Buna

Abu Dhabi, 9 September 2022: Buna (the payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”) and Standard Chartered held a ceremony today in the AMF premises to announce the live operation of euro cross-border payments in Buna.

The service is now activated by multiple participant banks from various Arab countries, with more participation expected in the upcoming weeks to benefit from the real-time settlement feature of euro payments taking place in Buna across borders in compliance with global best practices and international standards.

The live operation of the euro marks another major milestone in Buna’s journey to enhance cross-border payments and develop innovative payment solutions for corporates and individuals. The collaboration between Buna and Standard Chartered represents a strategic joint effort towards unlocking opportunities for greater economic integration within the Arab region and strengthening economic ties with Europe and other major trade partners.

Commenting on this key milestone, Mehdi Manaa, Chief Executive Officer of Buna said “I would like to thank our partner Standard Chartered for sharing our commitment to enhance cross-border payments. As the result of our common vision and fruitful collaboration, Buna can now offer real-time settlement of cross-border payments in euro. This is an important achievement towards building global and efficient payment bridges. Our participants will be benefiting further from our centralized, efficient, risk controlled, and secure system to optimize their payments in a major international currency, the euro”. He added “At this occasion, I would like to thank also the European Central Bank (ECB) for having followed with interest all the major milestones that have led to this success.” 

Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered UAE, said:

“We are pleased to witness this initiative go live, supporting our clients in their cross border payments. This solution capitalises on our international footprint and network, bringing Standard Chartered’s global capabilities to the door step of our clients.  We are also delighted to be working with the Arab Monetary Fund on delivering this innovative solution and look forward to further sharing the Bank’s expertise across the payment clearing industry.”