The Egyptian Arab Land Bank (EALB) strengthened its regional payment capabilities by working with the “Buna” system (the payment system operated by the Arab Payments Clearing and Settlement Regional Corporation, owned by the Arab Monetary Fund). EALB will be one of the first Jordanian banks to join the platform by launching the clearing and settlement service in Arab and foreign currencies. The first stage of the service will be in the currencies (Jordanian Dinar, UAE Dirham, Egyptian Pound, US Dollar, Euro, and Saudi Riyal). The launch of this service was announced after the bank met all the criteria and conditions necessary to complete transfers. The bank achieved shorter processing time utilizing modern solutions for cross-border transfers across the Arab region.

"Buna" is an advanced payment platform that provides clearing and settlement services in multiple currencies in the Arab region. It aims to enable financial and banking institutions regionally and internationally, including central and commercial banks, to send and receive inter-payments throughout the Arab region and abroad. This transaction is cost-effective, safe and reliable.

On this occasion, the ELAB Acting Regional Director, Mr. Ahmed Al-Askari, said the bank was pleased to join the "Buna" platform, which was in line with the request of the Central Bank of Jordan, encouraging Jordanian banks to participate in it. This participation contributes in several ways. It complements Arab economies by providing them with a new digital and innovative service; it facilitates cross-border financial and commercial transfers, between Arab countries and other member countries.

Al-Askari added that joining the platform is a pivotal step in ELAB’s plans to support regional cross-border trade. This step will facilitate trade between Jordan and Egypt, especially since the bank's headquarters are located in Cairo with branches across Egypt. Therefore, this step will make performing money transfers between the two countries easier.

Al-Askari praised the efforts made by the Central Bank of Jordan to advance the services of the Jordanian banking sector. He expressed his appreciation for the role the “Buna” platform plays in supporting the growth and development of the Arab financial sector and the use of Arab currencies in clearing or settling payments. He further affirmed ELAB’s ongoing pursuit to enhancing its digital banking services and the providing modern payment solutions to the bank's customers in accordance with international standards, principles and compliance requirements. He indicated that at this stage, payments and transfers will be settled through the “Buna” platform in several currencies, including (Jordanian Dinar, US Dollar, UAE Dirham, Saudi Riyal, Egyptian Pound and Euro). In the future, the currencies will include all Arab currencies on the platform, as settlement currencies and other currencies. 

For his part, Mr. Mahdi Manea, CEO of the Arab Payments Clearing and Settlement Corporation (Buna), stated, “We are pleased to welcome the Egyptian Arab Land Bank to join the banks participating in the “Buna” platform. This move will enhance cross-border payments at the regional and global levels by reducing costs and increasing speed and accessibility. Furthermore, it will contribute to the development of cross-border payments from or to Jordan, as part of the continuous expansion of Buna to include more banks in Jordan, as we are doing with the rest of the Arab countries and the world. We aim to support the efforts made in strengthening economic and trade relations and financial transactions between Jordan and various Arab and international markets.

Mahdi reiterated his confidence that ELAB’s addition to the Buna platform will pave the way for other Jordanian banks to join the platform in the near future. Banks may benefit from the added value offered to participating financial institutions, under the support and guidance of the Central Bank of Jordan. Mahdi also thanked the Central Bank of Jordan for its continuous support and care for the platform.