The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, have signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs).
The first covers banking supervision and Islamic finance. The second explores links between the payment and financial messaging systems of both countries.
Under the first MoU, the two central banks will deepen their cooperation on regulation and supervision.
They will share supervisory information on banks and financial institutions.
Both sides will coordinate on supervisory practices and regulations, share expertise and build institutional capacity.
In Islamic banking, the MoU calls for closer coordination among Shariah governance bodies.
It also aims to develop cross-border Shariah-compliant financing, such as trade finance and infrastructure investment.
The second MoU covers instant payment platforms, national card switches and financial messaging systems.
Each central bank will assess whether these systems can be linked. The aim is to ease the processing and settlement of cross-border transactions.
Domestic payment cards from one country could then be accepted in the other. Any link would follow the regulatory and supervisory rules of both countries.
Beyond payment links, both sides will share expertise on developing retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
They will study how CBDCs could be used for cross-border payments between the UAE and Morocco.
Cooperation will extend to fintech and to rules for virtual assets, such as crypto-assets and stablecoins. This includes related consumer protection measures.
“Through this cooperation, we look forward to exchanging supervisory expertise, developing Islamic finance solutions, and exploring opportunities to strengthen links between payment systems,
contributing to a more efficient and innovative financial sector and supporting economic and trade relations between the two countries,”
said H.E Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) via its website and Who is Danny via Magnific.
