Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MOCT) has signed a significant cooperation agreement with global payments leader Visa to advance the nation’s digital transformation. The partnership aims to develop a modern, inclusive digital economy by enhancing fintech innovation, financial inclusion, and digital payment infrastructure for businesses.
A Strategic Framework for Digital Transformation
The agreement, signed at Visa’s headquarters in San Francisco, establishes a collaborative framework to modernize Syria’s digital infrastructure. Key areas of focus include developing a regulatory sandbox tailored to the country’s emerging fintech sector, launching up-skilling and capacity-building initiatives, and strengthening cybersecurity and fraud prevention measures.
The Syrian government will also gain access to Visa’s consulting services to support its broader digital economy ambitions.
The collaboration was formalized in the presence of His Excellency Abdulsalam Haykal, Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Syria, and Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President for North Africa, Levant, and Pakistan at Visa.
Empowering SMEs and Fostering Innovation
A central goal of the partnership is to empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by facilitating their adoption of digital payments and increasing their access to financial services. By digitizing everyday business transactions in line with global security standards, the initiative seeks to unlock greater participation for Syrian businesses in the digital economy.
To further stimulate the local ecosystem, the MOCT and Visa plan to design and launch a dedicated Syrian fintech innovation competition. Winners will be showcased on Visa’s global fintech platforms, providing them with critical visibility and exposure to regional and international partners, investors, and key ecosystem stakeholders.
His Excellency Abdulsalam Haykal commented on the agreement, stating, “Enabling the digital economy is one the Ministry’s top priorities, and so is the enablement of tech startups to find sustainable solutions to digital services. Our collaboration with Visa reflects our focus on best practices, shaping digital government, payments, and innovation frameworks that serve Syria’s citizens and businesses alike.”
Leila Serhan of Visa added, “The signing of the MoU today builds on our continued engagement and support for establishing a future-ready payments ecosystem in Syria. By combining the MOCT’s national digital strategy with Visa’s global payments experience, we will work together on strengthening the core infrastructure needed for a modern digital economy and help digital services in Syria function more reliably and at scale.”
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Its mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.
Source: TechAfricaNews
