ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The World Bank on Friday said it has approved a $100 million grant to help Syria build a “secure” and “modern” finance sector.

The international institution said in a report that the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project “will support investments that will help make financial transactions safer, faster, and more transparent, while creating conditions for better access to financial services.”

The report suggested that after the 14-year civil war, Syria’s financial sector “remains small, bank-centric, and heavily reliant on cash with minimal financial intermediation, outdated digital payment infrastructure, and challenges in supervisory, financial integrity, and financial stability systems.”

The US and EU imposed sanctions on Syria’s former regime in 2011, following former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s violent repression of civilians.

Assad was toppled in December 2024 by a group of rebels led by now-interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, forcing him to flee to Russia.

The new authorities in Damascus repeatedly called on the international community, notably the US and European countries, so the country could begin rebuilding and pave the way for the return of millions of Syrians who sought asylum in neighboring and European countries.

The financial sector’s constraints increase transaction costs and “impede access to finance and limit Syria’s reconnection with international financial channels needed for trade and investment,” the World Bank said.

The grant is set to support the modernization of core financial infrastructure, the rehabilitation of the banking sector, and efforts to strengthen supervision, financial stability, and integrity.

“The project aims to operationalize foundational financial sector systems, enable at least 15 million electronic retail payments annually, and support at least 500,000 people and businesses, including 150,000 women, in actively using digital payments through project-supported systems,” Dahlia Khalifa, the institution’s Middle East department director, said according to the report.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh expressed gratitude to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors for approving the fund. Barnieh noted the $100-million package marks the fifth grant approved by the World Bank to support Syria, bringing in a total value of $491 million to date.