The Arab world now has two major regional cross-border payment platforms operating in parallel: AFAQ, run by the Gulf Payments Company on behalf of the six GCC central banks, and Buna, operated by the Arab Monetary Fund for the broader Arab region. Both aim to reduce dependence on correspondent banking for intra-regional transfers, but they differ substantially in scope, design, and strategic ambition. For banks and payment operations teams routing flows through the Middle East and North Africa, understanding these differences is essential.
AFAQ: The GCC Central Bank Network
AFAQ (Arabian Gulf System for Financial Automated Quick Payment Transfers) was launched in December 2020 for messaging and became fully operational for cross-currency settlement in December 2021. It is owned and governed by the six GCC central banks through the Gulf Payments Company (GPC), a closed joint stock company headquartered in Riyadh with a branch in Abu Dhabi.
Scope: Strictly GCC - the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.
Currencies: All six GCC currencies - SAR, AED, BHD, KWD, OMR, and QAR. Exchange rates are set daily by the participating central banks, not by market makers, providing a degree of FX rate certainty unusual in cross-border payments.
Settlement model: Real-Time Gross Settlement through each country's national RTGS system. When a bank in Saudi Arabia sends a payment to a bank in Oman, the transaction settles through the respective central banks' RTGS infrastructure. Settlement is same-day with finality and irrevocability.
Participants: Approximately 180 supervised financial institutions are connected to AFAQ as of early 2026, with around 50 commercial banks actively processing transactions. Participation is mandatory for institutions supervised by GCC central banks.
Architecture: AFAQ operates as a hub connecting the existing national RTGS systems of GCC countries. It does not replace domestic infrastructure but creates a standardised messaging and settlement layer on top of it. The system uses a private secure network with PKI-based authentication.
Planned expansion: GPC has announced that single-currency payment services and cross-border multilateral net clearing capabilities are planned for subsequent phases.
Buna: The Pan-Arab Platform
Buna was launched in 2020 by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), the Abu Dhabi-based multilateral institution whose 22 member states span from Morocco to Iraq. It was officially inaugurated at the World Governments Summit and has since grown into the more geographically ambitious of the two platforms.
Scope: All 22 AMF member states, plus expansion corridors into Pakistan, India, Africa, and potentially Europe. Buna explicitly positions itself as a bridge between the Arab region and its key trading partners globally.
Currencies: Six currencies currently supported - USD, EUR, SAR, EGP, JOD, and AED. The inclusion of USD and EUR alongside Arab currencies is a deliberate strategic choice: Buna aims to handle not just intra-Arab flows but also the region's substantial trade and remittance corridors with Europe and the Americas.
Settlement model: Buna operates its own RTGS mechanism, settling transactions directly between participating banks. It operates six days per week (Sunday to Friday), aligning with the regional business calendar. Buna also launched a Payment versus Payment (PvP) service in November 2023, enabling simultaneous settlement of both legs of a currency conversion - reducing FX settlement risk.
Participants: Over 110 financial institutions are onboard as of late 2024, with 108 banks having completed technical integration out of 120 that signed linking agreements. The platform was processing approximately 15,000 transactions per month with 15% month-on-month growth.
Geographic expansion: Buna has signed memoranda of understanding with partners in Pakistan (most advanced), India, Africa, and Europe. Syria formally joined the platform in October 2025. The Buna-Raast (Pakistan) interlinking for PKR payments went live in October 2025, representing the first non-Arab currency corridor.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Dimension | AFAQ | Buna |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | GCC central banks (6 shareholders) | Arab Monetary Fund (22 member states) |
| Geographic scope | GCC only (6 countries) | Arab region + global corridors |
| Currencies | 6 GCC currencies | 4 Arab + USD + EUR |
| Settlement | Via national RTGS systems | Own RTGS mechanism |
| Operating days | Aligned with GCC business calendar | Sunday to Friday |
| FX rate setting | Central bank daily rates | Market-based |
| PvP capability | Not yet announced | Live since November 2023 |
| Participant count | ~180 institutions | ~110 institutions |
| Strategic focus | GCC financial integration | Global corridor connectivity |
The Overlap Problem
The most obvious tension is that all six GCC countries fall within both platforms' scope. A Saudi bank sending a payment to a UAE bank can, in theory, route it through either AFAQ or Buna. This creates a competitive dynamic that is unusual in payment infrastructure, where most regions have a single leading cross-border mechanism.
In practice, the overlap is mitigated by different use cases: AFAQ is stronger for GCC-to-GCC payments in local currencies, particularly where central bank FX rates are preferred Buna is stronger for payments involving USD/EUR, for flows between GCC and non-GCC Arab countries (e.g., Saudi to Egypt), and for corridors extending beyond the Arab region (e.g., to Pakistan)
The two platforms may eventually need a formal interoperability arrangement or a clear delineation of routing rules. Several large banks in the GCC are connected to both systems and currently make routing decisions based on currency, destination, and fee structure.
Strategic Implications
For GCC banks: Dual connectivity is becoming the norm. AFAQ handles the intra-GCC local currency flows efficiently through central bank RTGS settlement. Buna provides the gateway for broader corridors, particularly where USD/EUR settlement is needed or where the counterparty is in a non-GCC Arab country.
For non-GCC Arab banks: Buna is the primary option. Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan, Tunisian, and Iraqi institutions can access the platform to reach GCC markets without routing through traditional USD correspondent chains. The inclusion of EGP and JOD as settlement currencies is specifically designed to serve these corridors.
For global banks with MENA exposure: Both platforms reduce the need for nostro accounts in every GCC country. A bank with one Buna connection can reach 22 Arab markets. A bank with one AFAQ connection can settle in all six GCC currencies through a single point.
For regulators: The existence of two overlapping platforms raises questions about efficiency and fragmentation. However, it also provides redundancy - if one platform experiences issues, the other provides an alternative route for critical flows. The GCC's approach of building AFAQ while also participating in Buna suggests central banks see value in both specialised intra-GCC infrastructure and broader pan-Arab connectivity.
The Larger Context
AFAQ and Buna sit within a broader trend of regional payment platform proliferation. Project Nexus (BIS), PAPSS (Africa), Buna (Arab region), AFAQ (GCC), and bilateral central bank links (like Buna-Raast) all reflect a global shift toward reducing dependence on the traditional correspondent banking model for cross-border payments.
The MENA region's cross-border payment flows are substantial: over $28 billion in remittances, $271 billion in trade flows, and $127 billion in foreign direct investments annually. The proportion of these flows that can be captured by AFAQ and Buna - versus traditional correspondent banking channels - will determine whether these platforms evolve from policy-driven infrastructure into commercially essential rails.
Key Takeaway
The Arab world's two cross-border payment platforms are not direct competitors so much as complementary layers serving different routing needs. AFAQ provides deep GCC integration with central bank settlement guarantees. Buna provides breadth, reaching across the entire Arab region and into global corridors. Banks operating in MENA increasingly need connectivity to both. The open question is whether they will eventually converge - through interoperability or consolidation - or continue to operate as parallel but distinct networks.
Sources: Gulf Payments Company - AFAQ Services; Gulf Payments Company - Facilitating Cross-Border Payments in GCC; SAMA Rulebook - Operating Rules for Cross Currency Payments Using AFAQ Service; Asian Banker - Buna Poised to Transform Cross-Border Payments in the Arab Region; Arab Monetary Fund - Buna Payment versus Payment Service Launch (November 2023); CBUAE - Buna Arab Regional Payment System.