QNB Syria has issued the country’s first locally issued payment card. The card is accepted internationally and runs on the Mastercard network.

Customers who qualify can use it for payments at home and abroad.

The card is a new step for Mastercard and QNB Group in Syria. Their partnership has moved from card acceptance to card issuance.

The launch builds on earlier steps, including enabling international card acceptance in Syria and completing the country’s first transaction on an internationally issued Mastercard card in more than 15 years.

That transaction ran through international point-of-sale systems. The new card’s first transaction also went through smoothly, processed at an international terminal.

“The launch of a locally issued Mastercard card through QNB Syria, enabled for international use, marks an important step in expanding access to digital banking services,

strengthening the integration of the banking and monetary sectors, and empowering consumers and businesses to benefit more broadly from modern payment solutions,”

said H.E. Mohammed Safwat Raslan, Governor, Central Bank of Syria.

“The launch of a locally issued Mastercard card through QNB Syria marks another important step in the evolution of Syria’s payments ecosystem,”

said Adam Jones, Division President, West Arabia, Mastercard.

QNB Syria will roll out the card in phases, as the bank also adds more payment products and services.

It is a subsidiary of QNB Group, which is based in Doha, Qatar, and has a presence across other markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by Mastercard via its website.