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Fintech & payments regulation in Palestine (2026)

Fintech and digital payments in Palestine: licensing regime.

Digital payments and fintech in Palestine are licensed and supervised by the Palestine Monetary Authority. A dedicated National Payments decree-law (No. 41 of 2022) governs payment service providers and electronic settlement, with PMA instructions covering e-wallets, prepaid cards and e-money; the PMA has licensed multiple PSPs and operates RTGS (Buraq) and an instant-payment rail (iBuraq, 2024). Open banking and BNPL are not yet covered by distinct, published frameworks.

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Legal framework

Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) under Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on National Payments, complemented by PMA e-payment/e-money instructions (since 2020), the RTGS 'Buraq' and instant-payment 'iBuraq' systems, and a regulatory sandbox.

Key points: digital payments & fintech in Palestine

  1. Regulator & primary law

    The Palestine Monetary Authority is the central monetary/supervisory authority; Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on National Payments regulates payment service providers and establishes the legal infrastructure for structured electronic settlement.

    pma.ps worldbank.org

  2. E-money & PSP licensing

    Since April 2020 the PMA has issued instructions to operate and provide electronic payment services covering e-wallets and prepaid cards, and has licensed several PSPs (e.g., PalPay's 'Mahfazti' e-wallet). New e-money regulations were developed with World Bank support.

    pma.ps bop.ps

  3. Instant-payment rails

    The PMA operates the RTGS 'Buraq' system (live since 2010, multi-currency) and launched the instant-payment 'iBuraq' system in 2024, settling domestic payments between banks and e-wallets 24/7 with near-immediate (within ~10 seconds) crediting.

    centralbanking.com pma.ps

  4. Bill payment & sandbox

    The national Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment system (E-SADAD) was awarded to MadfoatCom by the PMA in June 2022, and the PMA runs a regulatory sandbox to test innovative fintech solutions under supervision.

    pma.ps madfoat.com

  5. Cash-reduction mandate (2026)

    Decree-Law No. 4 of 2026 on the Reduction of Cash Use promotes digital payments as an alternative to cash, reinforcing the PMA-supervised electronic payments ecosystem; it has spurred lower merchant/interchange fees and additional licensed digital PSPs.

    kurdi.law imf.org

  6. Open banking & BNPL gaps

    No distinct, published open-banking or buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) regulatory framework was identified; these areas appear to fall under general PMA payment/credit supervision rather than dedicated regimes as of 2026.

    pma.ps worldbank.org

Sources

  1. pma.ps/en/Legislation//Laws
  2. pma.ps/en/Media/Press-Releases/palestine-monetary-authority-starting-to-prov
  3. pma.ps/en/PaymentSystems//BuraqMembers
  4. pma.ps/en/Media/Press-Releases/palestine-monetary-authority-launches-the-reg
  5. centralbanking.com/central-banks/payments/7961973/palestinian-monetary-authority-launche
  6. worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2024/12/16/e-payments-as-a-pathway-to-growth-empoweri
  7. kurdi.law/decree-law-4-reduction-of-cash-use-in-palestine-2026/
  8. bop.ps/en/about/news/5
  9. madfoat.com/palestine
  10. imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2022/english/1wbgea2022003.pdf

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026