Somalia’s banking sector is estimated to be worth around USD 2 billion, with growth expected to come from improvements to its regulatory framework, which includes legislation in favour of technologies designed to streamline procedures and, above all, increase the traceability of transactions. This initiative marks a turning point in Somalia’s financial sector, with the introduction of digital and contactless payments as part of the co-branded tokenised digital card initiative.
Somalia’s banking sector is estimated to be worth around USD 2 billion, with growth expected to come from improvements to its regulatory framework, which includes legislation in favour of technologies designed to streamline procedures and, above all, increase the traceability of transactions. This initiative marks a turning point in Somalia’s financial sector, with the introduction of digital and contactless payments as part of the co-branded tokenised digital card initiative.
Fintech is another, a very good area that the Somali bank is still interested in, and some of the initiative is to enhance. The fintech area has been well documented and discussed during the conference. Another area which is very controversial in Somalia, but it is the theme and a current issue all over the world is the cryptocurrency issue.It’s an early discussion here in Somalia, but the focus is to establish deeply on the cryptocurrency market and however the bank is could integrate with these new trends in the financial sector in the world.
According to a guidance note from the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS), the country records around 650 million mobile money transactions worth $8 billion a year, and more than 70% of adult Somalis regularly use mobile money services. Hence the authorities’ determination, in line with the country’s Vision 2030, to invest in telecommunications infrastructure in accordance with Sharia law.
There is a lot of interest in online transactions, particularly in growing digital lending, which is the result of the latest financial technology development. Since these online services are already available in Somalia, there is a need to harmonise them and make them Sharia compliant.
According to the IMF, Somalia’s GDP growth should reach 3.2% in 2024, thanks in part to the digital economy.
