Syria will begin rebuilding the infrastructure underpinning its banking and payment systems with a $100 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association. Approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, the funding will support the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project and help establish the foundations of a modern, secure and digitally enabled financial system.
The project is designed to make transactions safer, faster and more transparent while creating the conditions for broader access to financial services. After 14 years of conflict, Syria’s financial sector remains small, centered on banks and heavily dependent on cash. Financial intermediation is limited, digital payment infrastructure is outdated and the country faces significant weaknesses in banking supervision, financial integrity and financial stability.
These constraints have increased transaction costs, restricted access to financing and hindered Syria’s reconnection with the international financial channels required for trade and investment. A functioning financial system is also needed to facilitate wage and pension payments, remittances, commercial transactions and the transparent delivery of humanitarian and development assistance. It could additionally improve public revenue collection and the processing of government payments.
Banking systems modernized
The project will finance the modernization of core financial infrastructure, support the rehabilitation of the banking sector and strengthen supervision, financial stability and financial integrity. It will also enhance the operational capacity of the Central Bank of Syria and the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
Funding will cover payment and financial-market infrastructure, credit infrastructure and the broader technology environment required to process secure and transparent financial flows. Investments will also upgrade the central bank’s core banking system, information technology infrastructure and cybersecurity capabilities.
Independent asset quality reviews will assess public and private banks across the entire financial system, creating a foundation for future restructuring and banking-sector reforms. The project will introduce more risk-based supervision, deploy core supervisory technology applications and strengthen measures addressing money laundering and terrorist financing. The planned investments include systems, hardware, analytical tools and institutional capacity.
Over its implementation period, the project aims to enable at least 15 million electronic retail payments annually. It also seeks to help at least 500,000 people and businesses actively use digital payments through supported systems, including 150,000 women. Stronger prudential and financial-integrity reviews will complement these targets.
Recovery needs finance
Dahlia Khalifa, World Bank director for the Middle East Department, said a modern financial system was essential to Syria’s economic recovery and future development. The project would make payments safer and more efficient, strengthen financial integrity and establish the foundations required for banks and other financial institutions to serve households and companies more effectively. Wider financial access would also support private sector-led growth and job creation.
The project follows an IMF staff mission to Damascus from July 19 to 23, 2026, which identified banking-sector rehabilitation, stronger public financial management and enhanced anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing safeguards as urgent priorities. The IMF expects Syria’s economic growth to reach double digits in 2026 and remain strong in 2027, although poverty remains widespread and the recovery is uneven across regions.
During an earlier February mission, the IMF agreed on a technical-assistance program supporting new financial legislation, the rehabilitation of banking and payment systems, stronger banking supervision and the development of a suitable monetary-policy framework. The work aligns with the Central Bank of Syria Strategy 2025–2030.
Grant program expands
The financial-sector grant extends a broader World Bank program supporting Syria’s institutional recovery and essential public services. In March 2026, the bank approved a $20 million grant to improve public financial management, procurement, budget controls and accountability. The project is also laying the groundwork for digitalizing government financial functions.
In April, the World Bank approved another $225 million package comprising two grants for water and health services. A $150 million project will rehabilitate water supply and wastewater infrastructure, while a $75 million project will support the recovery and strengthening of Syria’s health system. The two programs are expected to benefit approximately 4.5 million people.
These approvals followed a $146 million electricity grant in June 2025.
Source: hurriyetdailynews