The Banking Executive Magazine - January 2023 Issue

Mastercard Partners with Credit Libanais MASTERCARD PARTNERS WITH CREDIT LIBANAIS TO LAUNCH INBOUND CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS BY DIRECT BANK DEPOSITS ACROSS LEBANON Mastercard has partnered with Credit Libanais to enable the acceptance of inbound cross-border payments through direct bank deposits. The collaboration is a first in the country as it modernizes remittances and will allow account holders to receive funds swiftly and securely. Through this partnership, Master- card’s technology will enable Credit Libanais to deliver a better experi- ence for their clients, by simplifying and optimizing the process of cross- border payments. The advanced so- lution will allow for the transfer of US dollars from several originating institutions in 12+ countries, to the bank’s clients by leveraging its global network and processing digital pay- ments through a single connection. According to the World Bank, Lebanon received $6.6 billion in re- mittances in 2021, one of the highest levels in the Middle East and North Africa. Cynthia El Khoury, Country Business Development Lead, Levant and Iraq at Mastercard said: “Mastercard Cross-Border Services connects fam- ilies and friends from all over the world, it empowers communities and broadens access to financial re- sources. It is built to improve the payment industry standards by help- ing people financially support their loved ones back home and honor business commitments. Through this partnership with Credit Libanais, our goal is to provide a secure platform that Lebanese from across the globe can leverage and will be able to as- sist their families at ease.” Credit Libanais have further plans to extend support for similar cross-bor- der payments to be credited to clients at other Lebanese-based banks. Mrs. Randa Bdeir, Deputy General Manager and Head of Electronic Payment at Credit Libanais said: “We are delighted of being appointed as Mastercard agent for Inbound cross border services in Lebanon. This partnership with Mastercard comes at a time of a growing need of Cross- Border payment services in Lebanon. This collaboration will address a need in the market especially that the rate of digital money transfer be- tween people has increased, creating new payment model, so we intro- duced this new service that will pro- vide the clients of Credit Libanais and other Lebanese banks, a safe and convenient experience at affordable prices.” Bdeir added:” Switching more pay- ments out of cash into digital, lowers the cost of payments and increase the velocity of money in the econ- omy which will be translated directly in the GDP growth.” In conclusion, backed by the strength of an interconnected bank- ing network and more than 50 years of experience making payments sim- ple, safe and smart, Mastercard Cross-Border Services allows people and businesses to send and receive money securely and with certainty all over the world. This service paired with Mastercard’s multi-rail strategy permits every customer, mer- chant and government player, to be seamlessly connected with stake- holders across the digital payment ecosystem. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 54 ISSUE 169 JANUARY 2023