US Sanctions Archives - International Finance

Syria’s first international card payments signal return to global finance

International Finance Business Desk — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:00:55 +0000

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has used a cup of coffee to mark a much bigger transaction: the country’s first live international Visa card payment, signalling a further reopening of Syria’s financial system after decades of sanctions and isolation.

Al-Sharaa made the payment at a restaurant in Damascus’s Old City on Wednesday (August 26), with Central Bank Governor Mohammed Safwat Raslan present.

Visa said the transaction was conducted with Lebanon-based Fransabank as the acquiring institution and Syrian payments technology company Paymera, following an agreement with the central bank in December.

The milestone came a day after Washington formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation the country had carried since 1979.

The US move removes restrictions associated with the designation and is expected to reduce a major legal and compliance barrier for international banks and investors considering business in Syria.

The Treasury said the action would help foster additional investment and support political and economic stability.

Raslan described the Visa transaction as a “new beginning” for Syrian financial services. He said modernising the national payments ecosystem and integrating it with international payment networks was part of a wider effort to rebuild the country’s financial infrastructure.

Visa’s test was accompanied by an equally significant development from Mastercard and Qatar-based QNB Group.

The companies said they had completed the first end-to-end international Mastercard card payment in Syria, reconnecting the country’s payments ecosystem to Mastercard’s global network after an interruption of more than 15 years.

QNB Syria processed the transaction at an eligible local merchant using an internationally issued Mastercard. The payment was authorised through the network, and the merchant received the funds through the banking system, demonstrating that the full transaction cycle can now operate in Syria.

ALSO READ | IMF sees war-torn Syria’s recovery accelerating but warns reforms must deepen

QNB said eligible merchants, including hotels, restaurants and government entities, will be able to accept international Mastercard credit cards through its point-of-sale terminals. The rollout will be phased, with additional merchants added subject to regulatory approvals and compliance requirements.

For Visa, the immediate commercial focus is enabling international visitors to use their cards in Syria. Wider card acceptance could benefit tourism, hospitality and retail businesses while reducing reliance on cash and giving Syrian merchants access to international payment infrastructure.

The developments are part of a broader attempt by President al-Sharaa’s government to reconnect Syria with international finance and attract foreign investment following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Progress has already been made on the payments side. Syria completed its first electronic transfer through the Swift international messaging system in June 2025, ending a 14-year exclusion.

The country has also been moving towards restoring correspondent banking relationships and rebuilding links with international financial institutions.

The lifting of the US terrorism designation is particularly important because the broader US sanctions regime had already been eased, but the terrorism designation remained a significant source of legal and reputational risk for global banks.

Its removal could make it easier for Syrian banks to establish correspondent relationships, process cross-border transactions and eventually expand access to international capital.

However, the return of global payments networks does not mean Syria’s financial isolation has ended overnight.

Banks and payment companies will still need to navigate remaining targeted sanctions, customer due diligence, anti-money-laundering rules, cybersecurity requirements and other regulatory controls.

That caution was reflected in Raslan’s comments that strong compliance, risk management and operational controls would remain essential to protecting payment and settlement systems and rebuilding confidence.

For businesses, the significance of the card transactions goes beyond the symbolic image of the president paying for coffee.

International card acceptance is basic financial infrastructure for an economy seeking to attract tourists, foreign companies and investment. It can also help formalise transactions, improve payment transparency and reduce dependence on cash.

ALSO READ | Iran war: US backs Iraq-Syria pipeline revival to reduce Hormuz oil risk

That transition will matter most for reconstruction, where Syrian companies will need reliable channels for importing equipment, paying overseas suppliers and receiving funds from foreign partners.

International payment connectivity can support those flows, although meaningful recovery will also depend on banking-sector reform, currency stability, investor confidence and the security environment.

For now, the first card transactions provide a tangible demonstration that Syria’s financial infrastructure is beginning to reconnect with the world at a commercial scale.

The simultaneous return of Visa and Mastercard, therefore, offers one of the clearest signs yet that Syria is moving from political and sanctions relief towards practical financial reintegration.

The next test will be whether banks, merchants and international investors follow the payment networks back into the Syrian market.

The post Syria’s first international card payments signal return to global finance appeared first on International Finance.

Will Venezuela become oil biggie? As US lifts sanctions, experts weigh in

IFM Correspondent — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 04:57:46 +0000

The state-run oil company of Venezuela, PDVSA, has started contacting customers with contracts for crude supply, amid the temporary lifting of United States sanctions, resuming cash sales to international refiners.

The Joe Biden administration removed the majority of the six-month limitations on Venezuela’s ability to produce, sell, and export oil to specific markets. Some Venezuelan crude will again be available to consumers who were previously prohibited from transacting, thanks to the wide relaxation of sanctions that have been in place since 2019 in the wake of an election that Washington viewed as fraudulent.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury issued the license with the intention of promoting a free and fair presidential election in Venezuela in 2024. However, it is not anticipated to instantly result in more exports or dramatically improve Venezuela’s declining oil production.

A large number of PDVSA’s highly qualified employees have left the trading business as a result of inadequate pay for oil traders.

According to experts, this loss of experience means that new discussions can take some time, or result in few new export deals in the six months of the license.

With the greatest crude reserves in the world, Venezuela currently produces 780,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average. The revisions to the license could help PDVSA generate more cash flow by removing some of the intermediaries who are selling its oil to consumers, primarily in Asia, at a discount.

“The OFAC has issued an unprecedented general license that suspends the broad siege imposed on PDVSA,” the company’s CEO and Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea said on social media, Reuters reported.

Under the license granted by OFAC, which is in charge of US sanctions, Venezuela is now able to get paid directly for goods or services.

The limitations on payment had diminished the earnings from sales to PDVSA and its joint companies, which were only permitted to ship goods to settle debt; cash transfers to Venezuela were not permitted. Some US sanctions against PDVSA remained in place.

Experts’ take on the matter

The easing of sanctions on Venezuela may not quickly expand its oil output but can boost profits by returning some foreign companies to its oilfields and providing its crude to a wider set of cash-paying customers, experts believe.

“This looks like a wide lifting of oil sanctions on Venezuela, which is surprising because the license is more expensive than expected,” said Francisco Monaldi, a Latin American energy expert with Rice University’s Baker Institute, while speaking with Reuters.

The Joe Biden government’s move is seen as a measure to ease high oil prices caused due to sanctions on Russia and OPEC output cuts. However, experts believe that Venezuela’s overall exports are unlikely to offset those global production cuts.

To once again become a relevant oil exporter, the Southern American country needs dozens of drilling rigs, billions of dollars in infrastructure replacements for refineries, flow stations and crude upgraders and a reliable power supply.

Venezuela can also inaugurate gas exports if United States-authorized negotiations with Trinidad and Tobago for joint offshore projects progress, while a portion of oil currently going to China can end up in the Caribbean if President Nicolas Maduro re-establishes the country’s Petrocaribe supply program.

Venezuela’s exports to China directly and through trans-shipment hubs have fallen to 437,000 bpd so far in 2023 from 477,000 bpd in 2022, according to vessel monitoring data.

“If Venezuela and China reach a pact to resume debt payments and expand joint oil projects, that could add some extra 100,000 bpd of output in the two-year period,” Monaldi remarked, while adding, “But if no sustained investment happens, it is difficult to predict overall output of more than 1.1 million bpd in the short and medium terms.”

The post Will Venezuela become oil biggie? As US lifts sanctions, experts weigh in appeared first on International Finance.

Iran, Turkey to establish joint bank to ‘bypass the US sanctions’

International Finance Desk — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:21:43 +0000

According to media reports, Iran and Turkey are planning to create a joint bank to promote trade. The decision comes in an effort to withstand pressure from the US sanctions.

Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Farazmand, said, “Iran and Turkey are involved in mutual cooperation to create a new financial mechanism to pave the way for strengthening of trade ties amid the US sanctions.”

Last year, Turkey’s exports to Iran were estimated at $2.4 billion, and the Iranian exports to Turkey reached $6.9 billion. In November, the US extended waivers to a period of six months for eight major oil importers of Iranian oil. The waivers was provided to countries including Turkey, China, India, Greece, Italy, Japan, and South Korea, as well as Taiwan.

“Iran exports a large volume of gas to Turkey and we need a new mechanism to be created to ease financial transactions via our national currencies.”

“We are [in] the process of establishing a joint bank as well,” he said.

Last month, Ankara had decided to stall Iranian crude oil imports against the backdrop of the US sanctions. However, it criticised Washington’s decision to end the oil import waivers to Turkey.

With the US pressure, Ankara’s imports of Iranian crude oil has declined to an average of 209,000 tonnes per month between November and April.

According to Farazmand, the cooperation between both countries is to ‘bypass the US sanctions’.

That said, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran have also been seeking to increase gas exports to countries such as Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The post Iran, Turkey to establish joint bank to ‘bypass the US sanctions’ appeared first on International Finance.