ع
The World Bank announced approval of the grant for the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project, which will finance upgrades to make financial transactions safer, faster and more transparent while improving access to services for households and businesses. According to the bank’s statement, the project focuses on modernizing core infrastructure, rehabilitating the banking sector and strengthening supervision, financial stability and integrity measures. It will also build operational capacity at the Central Bank of Syria and the Financial Intelligence Unit to support broader economic reconnection with international channels.
A World Bank assessment found that after 14 years of conflict Syria’s financial sector has stayed small, bank-centric and heavily cash-based with outdated digital payment systems and gaps in oversight and integrity frameworks. These issues raise transaction costs, limit access to finance and restrict reintegration into global networks needed for trade, investment and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance. The statement noted that a functional financial system remains essential for wage payments, remittances, business activity, public revenue collection and transparent aid distribution.
The bank’s release detailed that the project will fund payment and financial market infrastructure along with technology including credit systems to enable efficient and secure flows across the economy. Investments will target the Central Bank’s core banking platform, information technology upgrades and enhanced cybersecurity capabilities. In addition the initiative will support system-wide independent asset quality reviews of public and private banks to lay foundations for future reforms.
Further elements include deployment of core supervisory technology applications, risk-based prudential oversight and strengthened anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism tools through new systems, hardware, analytical resources and training programs. Over the implementation period the project aims to operationalize foundational systems, generate at least 15 million electronic retail payments annually and enable at least 500,000 people and businesses including 150,000 women to actively use digital payments. These steps are expected to expand the financial sector’s role in supporting economic activity, trade, investment, access to finance and inclusion.
World Bank Director for the Middle East Department Dahlia Khalifa said, “A modern financial system is essential for Syria’s economic recovery and future development. The Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project will help make payments safer and more efficient, strengthen financial integrity, and establish essential foundations enabling the financial sector to better serve households and businesses, including through expanded access to financial services necessary to support private sector-led growth and job creation.” The director’s statement underscored how the combined investments and reforms will address long-standing constraints in the sector.
A World Bank country overview reported that Syria regained eligibility for International Development Association funding in May 2025 after Saudi Arabia and Qatar cleared arrears, ending a suspension that had lasted 14 years. The electricity restoration project approved in June 2025 marked the first such engagement in nearly four decades while a subsequent $225 million package in April 2026 targeted water and health services. World Bank data shows real GDP growth strengthened in 2025 with estimates between 2.0 and 4.0 percent as inflation eased to around 11.5 percent.
A separate World Bank macro-fiscal assessment placed total banking assets near $12 billion in late 2024 with customer loans equivalent to roughly 4 percent of GDP, highlighting persistently low levels of financial intermediation. The latest grant forms part of stepped-up support that a regional compilation of approvals values at nearly $500 million across multiple recent projects. The institution’s statement indicated that the modernization drive will help reduce reliance on cash and improve the sector’s contribution to private sector growth and job creation.
