Since mid-May 2023, holders of digital wallets have been able to pay their bills by scanning a QR code generated by payment terminals. (Credit: Bigstock)
BEIRUT — Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Karim Souhaid issued intermediate circular No. 735 on May 23 to reorganize and regulate the activities of money transfer and digital wallet companies in Lebanon, after a boom in recent years across the sector.Lebanon is home to more than 19 officially registered money transfer and digital wallet companies. The sector saw a sharp increase in just over a year following the issuance of Intermediate Circular No. 667 in April 2023 by former disgraced governor Riad Salameh. The circular facilitated the rapid expansion of electronic financial operations across the country.BDL had ramped up the number of licenses in an effort to curb Lebanon’s cash economy, which has dominated the market since the onset of the 2019 crisis and the collapse of the banking sector. Amid widespread distrust in banks that...
BEIRUT — Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Karim Souhaid issued intermediate circular No. 735 on May 23 to reorganize and regulate the activities of money transfer and digital wallet companies in Lebanon, after a boom in recent years across the sector.Lebanon is home to more than 19 officially registered money transfer and digital wallet companies. The sector saw a sharp increase in just over a year following the issuance of Intermediate Circular No. 667 in April 2023 by former disgraced governor Riad Salameh. The circular facilitated the rapid expansion of electronic financial operations across the country.BDL had ramped up the number of licenses in an effort to curb Lebanon’s cash economy, which has dominated the market since the onset of the 2019 crisis and the collapse of the banking sector. Amid widespread distrust in banks that...