ABU DHABI: Arab Payments Week 2026 (APW 2026) officially launches today, bringing together senior policymakers, central bankers, commercial banking leaders, and fintech experts from across the world to discuss the future of payments in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Organized by Buna; The Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization owned by the Arab Monetary Fund, the forum highlights how payments have moved far beyond their traditional operational role to become strategic sovereign infrastructure, central to financial stability, economic growth, trade enablement, financial inclusion, and technological innovation.
“Payments today sit at the heart of economic and financial policymaking,” Mr. Mehdi Manaa, the CEO of Buna noted. “They are no longer underlying functions, but foundational systems that shape competitiveness, resilience, and trust in our economies.”
The event addresses major interconnected transformations reshaping the payments ecosystems, such as the evolution of money in both sovereign and private forms; the rapid modernization of payment infrastructure toward instant, interoperable, and 24/7 systems; and the rising expectations from individuals and businesses for transparency, efficiency, and seamless user experience.
Arab Payments Week 2026 focuses on how policymakers and market participants can move from simply reacting to innovation to actively guiding it, through coherent strategies, modern regulatory frameworks, and enhanced regional and international cooperation.
The Arab region’s growing leadership in payments and trade is leveraging its strategic position and significant payment flows to take concrete steps in addressing the longstanding inefficiencies in this space.
8n this context, Mr. Manaa highlighted “The Arab region is moving from being a participant in global payments to becoming a contributor to global standards. Through initiatives such as Buna, we are demonstrating that regional cooperation can deliver faster, safer, and more transparent payments at scale.”
