January 19 , 2023
Abu Dhabi, January 19th, 2023: Buna (the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”), holds today, Thursday January 19th, its monthly virtual workshop number 39 to showcase Buna’s contribution to regional economic integration and detail the mechanisms put in place by the central banks to ensure the safety and resiliency of the service.
Buna continues removing geographical limitations in payments and delivering economic integration between Arab countries. As an illustration of that, the workshop will host a high-level guest speaker from the Central Bank of Iraq to elaborate on the joint Arab initiative to implement cross-border pension payments through Buna. This revolutionary service is facilitating retirees’ lives by allowing them to receive their pension in the place where they are living rather than in the country where they had been working. It is a first step that unlocks new opportunities for the upcoming future to enhance cross-border payments beyond just the pension, and in turn improve healthcare payments, students’ scholarship payments, government payments, and more.
In addition, the workshop will explain the mechanisms put in place by the central banks to ensure financial stability and guarantee the safety and resiliency of Buna. High-level guest speakers from the Central Bank of UAE and from international organizations will expand and share valuable insights on that notion and the vital role it plays in Buna, reinforcing Buna’s concrete contribution to developing payments and being a leader in cross-border payments in the Arab world and beyond in a safe and efficient way, by following global standards.
The workshop will be attended by over 200 senior officials representing central banks and a wide spectrum of institutions from the financial, banking and payment sector from the region and other international markets.
At this occasion, Mehdi Manaa, Chief Executive Officer of Buna said:
“Buna’s impact is becoming tangible. It is demonstrated through the pension initiative and the further opportunities it unlocks for the near future as it leverages financial inclusion and regional economic integration, two of our main drivers. With Buna, being in a country rather than another does not affect anymore the way citizens and corporates receive or spend money and only being part of region matters.”
Mehdi added: “We are also grateful to continue receiving high attention from the central banks and look forward to collaborating with them and reinforce our dedication to deliver on our key objectives by following the appropriate conformity and security standards.”
