Central Bank of Bahrain launches secure network for retail banks

BAHRAIN FINANCIAL SERVICES

MANAMA - A secure private network connecting all retail banks in Bahrain with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has been launched by the regulator.

The new secure network will act as the primary communication hub to perform real-time inter-bank payments settlement, while retaining the existing Swift network as a contingency backup.

The CBB said the introduction of the new network was a conscious move towards strengthening the system resiliency further and aligning it with global payment system best practices.

The move also supports the required infrastructure readiness, which can cater for the introduction of other services with these institutions in the future.

Moreover, the network will facilitate the communication between Bahrain and the GCC real time gross settlement system, which will soon enter its implementation phase.

CBB executive director for corporate services Dr Huda Al Maskati said, “The project of establishing the secure private network between the CBB and the financial institutions is one of the important strategic projects that the CBB has launched recently.

This network provides a secure environment to complete the settlement of payments in an efficient way, while at the same time ensuring that the participants’ payment messages retain the security and confidentiality needed.”