Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa recently made a Visa card payment at a shop in the heart of Damascus opening the door for Syria to enter he era of electronic banking.
August 24, 2026, will be remembered as a historic day. Syria closed one of the heaviest chapters of its international isolation since 1979, following its removal from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. With that step, a legal and financial burden that had followed the Syrian state for nearly half a century came to an end.
This was no longer a temporary exemption or a time-limited general license. It marked a fundamental transition: from the status of a besieged and internationally isolated state to that of a normal country increasingly positioned to reintegrate into the global economic system.
History will also record that on the same day, additional sanctions were imposed on Iran under the framework of economic isolation, targeting 60 individuals, entities, and vessels across several countries. Those measures were linked to the transportation of Iranian oil, the shadow tanker fleet, nuclear and missile programs, cyberattacks, cryptocurrency activity, money laundering, front companies, and intermediaries operating in the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, and Europe.
“Syria has moved from the status of a besieged and internationally isolated state to that of a normal country increasingly positioned to reintegrate into the global economic system.”
Dr. Osama Kadi
The contrast could hardly be more striking. On the very day the international community welcomed Syria’s return as a normal state and facilitated its reintegration into the global economic system, the Iranian regime faced deeper isolation. The regime that helped kill and displace Syrians was being further isolated, while a free Syrian people was being welcomed back into the international community.
There have been several layers of U.S. economic sanctions from which the Syrian people have now been freed.
The first consisted of comprehensive economic sanctions, which were lifted in July 2025, along with sanctions on 518 Syrian government institutions and entities. Combined with the end of the Caesar Act sanctions framework, this represented a major achievement.
The second layer involved Syria’s designation itself. Removing Syria from that classification is critically important because it lifts the country out of the U.S. regulatory framework governing sanctioned governments designated as supporters of terrorism. These regulations are administered by the U.S. Treasury Department through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and codified in 31 CFR Part 596.
With the removal of this designation, one of the final major chapters of Syria’s economic sanctions regime has effectively been closed.
Among the most damaging consequences of the designation were restrictions on financial transactions, heightened legal and compliance risks for American banks and companies, and the reluctance of international banks to conduct business with Syria for fear of sanctions exposure. It also restricted the financial transfers investors need to begin reconstruction and establish productive industries inside Syria.
The remaining targeted sanctions are directed at figures associated with the Assad regime, its allies and corruption networks, as well as human rights violators. This is precisely the distinction Syrians have sought: ending sanctions that burden the country and its people while maintaining accountability for individuals responsible for abuses.
Syria has now moved beyond the first stage, the sanctions regime that represented one of the most formidable obstacles to economic development. With the designation removed, the second and more important stage begins: economic development.
From Overcompliance to Financial Reintegration
Sanctions affected banks, insurance companies, shipping, technology, and almost every dimension of economic life.
At the same time, financial institutions around the world practiced what is commonly known as “overcompliance.” Banks sometimes rejected perfectly lawful transactions simply because the word “Syria” appeared in them, regarding any Syrian connection as a source of excessive legal, reputational, or compliance risk.
This created a layer of unwritten sanctions that, in some cases, went well beyond the formal restrictions.
Accounts belonging to Syrians and humanitarian organizations were closed. Transfers were delayed or returned to their origin. Trade financing became difficult, while shipping, insurance, and technology companies hesitated to enter the Syrian market. Syrian companies were sometimes required to provide unusually high guarantees simply because they were Syrian.
The Central Bank of Syria therefore faces major responsibilities and challenges.
Its first task should be direct communication with major central banks around the world to inform them of the latest changes in Syria’s status under U.S. law and regulations.
A political decision alone is not enough. Its practical implications must reach compliance officers inside banks, insurance companies, exporters, investors, and financial institutions worldwide.
“A political decision alone is not enough. Its practical implications must reach compliance officers inside banks, insurance companies, exporters, investors, and financial institutions worldwide.”
Dr. Osama Kadi
One of the companies likely to benefit most from this new environment is Oliver Wyman Financial, which is working on a “gap assessment” and helping mobilize efforts to persuade correspondent banks to engage with Syrian financial institutions. Syria’s removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list should significantly facilitate this work and support efforts toward Syria’s full reintegration into the SWIFT international financial messaging system.
Rebuilding Syria’s Banking Infrastructure
The Syrian Ministry of Economy and Industry has established 18 business councils around the world. I believe all of them should be directed to engage with banks in their respective countries, encourage those banks to establish branches in Syria, and raise awareness among private financial institutions about Syria’s new regulatory status.
We must work together as one team.
Modernizing Syria’s banking sector is essential. The Central Bank should oversee the construction of a high-technology financial infrastructure, taking full advantage of assistance from the World Bank and the expertise of the International Monetary Fund.
At the same time, Syria must expand its physical and digital banking infrastructure: ATMs must become widely available, electronic payment companies should be encouraged to enter the Syrian market, the Central Bank’s digital systems must be modernized, connectivity between private banks must be strengthened, and cybersecurity must become a national financial priority.
Among the most urgent tasks is comprehensive banking-sector reform. This should include auditing public and private banks, implementing international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, rebuilding correspondent banking relationships, and modernizing national payment systems.
The Central Bank’s primary objective must remain monetary and financial stability through effective management of money-supply growth. Expanding electronic payments throughout Syria would contribute significantly to that goal, alongside improvements in budgeting, economic data, and financial disclosure.
Private property must also be protected, and the legacy of nationalization and arbitrary expropriation must be brought to an end.
Banking operations, land registries, and commercial records should be digitized. Investment, corporate, arbitration, and dispute-resolution laws need modernization. Above all, Syria must combat monopolies and corruption while reducing the parallel economy.
This can be achieved by opening transparent and legal channels through which companies can transfer remittances and capital, allowing economic activity to move from informal networks into the formal economy.
The Three T’s of Syria’s Economic Revival
Economic recovery cannot take place without a coherent national development vision. I have summarized that vision through what might be called the Three T’s: Training, Transformation through Industry, and Technology.
The first step involves education, particularly technical and vocational education.
The second is industrialization in all its forms, especially agro-industrial development, which can simultaneously stimulate Syria’s agricultural sector.
The third is technology.
These priorities must be accompanied by balanced development across every economic sector and every Syrian governorate. No region, however small, should be neglected.
Banking services, ATMs, and electronic payment systems should become accessible to consumers and businesses throughout the country. Expanding electronic transactions would accelerate the circulation of money while improving the Central Bank’s ability to monitor and manage monetary conditions.
Investment must also be directed toward production, reconstruction, and infrastructure, while financing should be made available to small and medium-sized enterprises. All of this requires an investment environment capable of attracting and protecting capital.
Toward 2030: Restoring Syria’s Financial Role
I believe that before the end of 2026, most of Syria’s banking sector will be properly integrated into the SWIFT system. I also expect several foreign and Arab banks to enter the Syrian banking market before June 2027.
Syria’s larger mission should be to restore the financial position it enjoyed before the nationalization policies that began in 1958 and were reinforced by the decisions of 1961 and 1963 under successive Baathist governments.
Those policies cost Syria dearly. The country lost financial expertise, human capital, clients, deposits, and commercial networks.
Syrian bankers and money changers went on to help establish important financial institutions elsewhere. Among them was Dr. Naaman Wajih Azhari, who joined Lebanon’s BLOM Bank in 1962 when its original founders entrusted him with its management. He initially stepped in as the General Manager after serving as the Minister of Finance, Economy, and Planning in Syria.
“Today, Syria has a historic opportunity to rebuild confidence in its financial sector.”
Dr. Osama Kadi
By 1971, one year after the military coup in Syria that established Hafez al Assad as its Baathist president, Azhari had risen to the rank of Chairman and General Manager of BLOM Bank, building a multi-generational legacy where his family became major stakeholders alongside other prominent Syrian banking families and figures such as the Safra family—Jacob, Edmond, Joseph, and Moise—the Homsi family, Artin Makanajian, Rafiq Sioufi, and many others who had carried their Syrian banking expertise abroad.
Today, Syria has a historic opportunity to rebuild confidence in its financial sector. The government should therefore set an ambitious national objective for 2030: to make Syria, in banking and finance, the “Switzerland of the Middle East.”
