Digital Payments & Fintech · Bahrain
Digital Payments & Fintech - Bahrain
Bahrain operates a clear, established licensing regime for digital payments and fintech, with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as the single integrated regulator. Payment service providers and e-money issuers must be CBB-licensed under the Rulebook, open banking is mandatory for retail banks, and a national instant-payment rail (Fawri+) is in operation. Buy-now-pay-later is being brought fully into the perimeter via a dedicated rulebook module that was under review following a 2025 consultation.
The CBB is the integrated financial regulator and licenses payment service providers under the CBB Rulebook. Applications follow a single-phase process under the 2006 Law, with the CBB deciding within 60 calendar days of a complete application.
Payment and electronic-money activities sit within the CBB Rulebook (Volume 5 specialised/ancillary licensees), with prudential expectations on capital adequacy, surety bonding, AML/KYC and ongoing reporting.
The CBB launched the Bahrain Open Banking Framework on 28 October 2020 (after first mandating open banking for retail banks in December 2018). Updated open banking rules requiring customer consent/authentication, licensee disclosures and API performance reporting took effect from 1 September 2024.
The CBB-authorised BENEFIT Company operates the Electronic Funds Transfer System (EFTS); its Fawri+ service provides 24x7x365 real-time IBAN-based transfers (settled within ~30 seconds), alongside Fawri and Fawateer bill payment.
2022 amendments to Volume 5 (financing companies) opened the market to BNPL providers; the CBB closed a consultation in late 2025 on a dedicated BNPL module that would classify BNPL as regulated short-term credit subject to capital, conduct, consumer-protection, disclosure and digital-security rules.
The CBB runs a FinTech Regulatory Sandbox allowing payment and fintech startups to test models in a controlled environment before obtaining a full license.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →