The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and UnionPay International collaborate to support the growth of cross-border payments in the Arab region and beyond
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to create interoperability between Buna and UnionPay will expand the services provided to their network of participants
Abu Dhabi 23 February 2022: The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and UnionPay International (UPI), announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish cooperation and create interoperability between Buna (the cross-border and multi-currency payment system owned by the AMF) and UnionPay. Under the terms of this MoU, Buna and UnionPay will be connecting their payment systems to introduce to their network of participants, fast, efficient, and multi-currency cross-border payment solutions.
In this context, interlinking Buna and UnionPay’s payment systems will represent a step forward in both entities’ efforts to contribute to the global efforts to improve the accessibility and efficiency of cross-border payments.
The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) publishes a guidance note “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Practical Guide for Arab Central Banks"
Increasing interest in retail CBDC within the Arab region
Defining CBDCs in law, clearly specifying CBDC legal tender status, assigning CBDC as cash finality, are all major legal challenges
The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) issued today Monday, 21 February 2022, a guide titled “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Practical Guide for Arab Central Banks”, produced by members of the Arab Regional Fintech Working Group (WG). The guide is issued under the framework of the Fund's endeavours to support Arab central banks in their journey exploring CBDCs that matches best for each jurisdiction, and are well suited for the central bank objectives, available resources, targeted implications, taking into consideration country-specific conditions, infrastructure and as well as respective legal and regulatory frameworks.