ABU DHABI - The Central Bank of the UAE and the Arab Monetary Fund, AMF, announced the signing of an agreement to offer clearing and payment settlement services in Emirati Dirhams, AED, through the "Buna" platform for Arab payments, after the completion of technical link operations.

The announcement concludes the efforts of teams from the bank and platform to link their systems, as well as perform tests and conduct procedures aimed at making the AED the platform’s first settlement currency.

Through the platform, participating banks in Arab countries will be able to clear and settle cross-border payments in AED and reduce costs.

The AED accounts for a large percentage of Arab payments, with transactions accounting for over 13 percent of Arab financial transactions, barring individual transfers via foreign currency exchange companies.

Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al Hamidi, Chairman of the Fund, expressed his happiness at the announcement and his appreciation and gratitude to the governor of the bank for supporting the platform while praising the bank’s cooperation in making the AED a part of the platform.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.