Syria Marks First SWIFT Transfer Since Its Civil War Began

Syria has reportedly made its first international bank transfer via the SWIFT system since 2011.

As Reuters noted in its report Thursday (June 19), that was the year the country’s civil war broke out. The transfer, the report said, marks a milestone in Syria’s effort to become part of the world financial system once more.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a global network that lets financial institutions around the world send and receive information about financial transactions. The organization said last year that 90% of the cross-border payments made on its network arrived at their destination bank within an hour.

Abdulkader Husrieh, governor of Syria’s central bank, told Reuters that a direct commercial transaction was carried out from a user in Syria to an Italian bank on Sunday.

“The door is now open to more such transactions,” he added.

In other cross-border payments news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about the way the current trade war underlines the importance of smooth fund flows across supply chains.

“Banks and FinTechs are in the middle of it all, enabling commercial payments that cross borders,” that report said.

“Foreign exchange (FX) rates and transparency into the payments themselves — in terms of tracking them and when they settle — have long been points of friction. Trade credit and digital payments have become essential to the functioning of supply chains.”

Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “2024-2025 Growth Corporates Working Capital Index,” a collaboration with Visa, showed that 70% users of financing reported improved buyer-supplier relationships.

Nearly 1,300 chief financial officers and treasurers surveyed said they both value and want banking products that integrate with their operations, such as corporate cards, to ease those trade-related cross-border headaches.

“They also expect bankers to offer digital-first, friction-free services with faster approval processes aligned with their strategic growth agenda,” the report said.

PYMNTS has also followed the ongoing rise of digital-first, cross-border payment providers and platforms, with digital wallets a promising area for accessing and embracing digital payments and embedded finance.

Most consumers use digital wallets, but under half of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. have made them part of their operations. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Global Money Movement: U.S. Edition” shows that the lack of digital wallets as an industry standard was cited by one-third of firms as hindrance, while more than a quarter said they were not sure if their international partners could accept the method.

“Digital wallets can reduce payment processing times from days to minutes,” PYMNTS wrote last week.

“For SMBs seeking to build trust with international customers or suppliers, the ability to pay — or be paid — nearly instantly confers a tangible advantage. Fast money fosters goodwill.”