Benefit payments surge 85% in Bahrain

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Benefit, the operator of Bahrain’s national electronic fund transfer system (EFTS), has reported a massive increase in online transactions in the first half of this year.

Data released yesterday by the company which was established as the national ATM and point of sale switch in 1997 shows that total payments through the EFTS (Fawri, Fawri+ and Fawateer) – both online and via BenefitPay – surged by 85 per cent in volume to 121.2 million, with their total value exceeding BD12.5 billion in the first six months of 2022 (H1-2022).

Fawri, Fawri+ and Fawateer transactions through BenefitPay jumped 92pc in volume during H1 2022 to 113.7m.

Fawri+ is an almost real-time fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer funds of up to BD1,000 per day in less than 30 seconds; whereas Fawri is a deferred settlement fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer any amount within a few hours of the business day, and Fawateer provides real-time bill payments.

The volume of payments made in H1-2022 using Fawri+ was 108.7m, 95pc higher than 55.8m in the first half of 2021.

Fawri+ transactions across all channels zoomed by 50pc to a total value in excess of BD2.9bn in the first half of 2022, from BD1.9bn in H1-2021.

Payments for Fawri+ through BenefitPay in H1-2022 amounted to a total of BD2.7bn, 51pc higher than BD1.8bn in the first half of 2021.

Fawri transactions across all channels rose by 23pc as their value in the first half of 2022 exceeded BD9bn when compared with BD7bn during H1-2021.

Furthermore, Fawri transfers through BenefitPay saw an increase of 54pc in total value to BD385m in H1-2022, from BD250m in the first half of 2021.

As for Fawateer transactions over all channels, there has been a surge of 44pc in their total value in the first half of 2022 exceeding BD443m from BD308m in the first half of 2021.

Fawateer payments through BenefitPay reached a total value of BD90m in H1-2022, up 71pc from BD53m in the same period last year.

The electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) platform totalled 212,663 verifications during the first half of 2022, in comparison to 73,586 verifications in the first half of 2021, demonstrating a 189pc increase.

Furthermore, the Bahrain Credit Reference Bureau (BCRB) operated by Benefit, issued a total of 127,143 credit reports in H1-2022, up 6.8pc from 119,022 credit reports in the first half of 2021.