Finance09 September, 20262 min read
Bank Audi And Mastercard Launch Program Supporting 10,000 Lebanese Small Businesses With Digital Payments
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Bank Audi and Mastercard launch program to empower 10,000 Lebanese entrepreneurs with digital financial services. Collaboration with Banque du Liban to accelerate digital payment adoption for SMEs and women entrepreneurs.
7 outlets told this the same way.
10,000 SMEs targeted
Bank Audi and Mastercard announced a program to support 10,000 Lebanese small business owners and entrepreneurs with access to digital financial services and tools to accelerate business growth across Lebanon. As part of the collaboration, Bank Audi, through neo Business, will provide 10,000 eligible businesses free bank accounts and Mastercard business debit cards, along with multi-currency banking services and a simplified digital onboarding process.
Mastercard will support the initiative through digital acceptance solutions, merchant education and training programs, and awareness campaigns designed to encourage the adoption of digital payments and support business growth. In a related announcement, Mastercard said it was partnering with Banque du Liban and stakeholders across the ecosystem to accelerate digital payment acceptance across Lebanon, with a particular focus on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women entrepreneurs.
Officials frame digital payments
Mastercard’s Mohamed Assem, country manager for Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq, said, "At Mastercard, we believe that acceptance is the foundation of a thriving digital economy," linking the push to a collaboration with Banque du Liban. In the same context, Mastercard said the collaboration would support programs promoting digital payment acceptance, financial inclusion and business growth across Lebanon.
The program is also described as including security and trust measures, with Mastercard saying its efforts are centered on enhancing security and trust by leveraging advanced cybersecurity solutions, artificial intelligence technologies, and fraud prevention. A separate report on Lebanon’s payment push quoted Banque du Liban Deputy Governor Makram Bou Nassar at a press conference, saying the measures were meant "to curb cash transactions" and strengthen compliance and transparency standards.
Cash crackdown and devices
Banque du Liban said card payments rose by 130 percent in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period in 2025, while the value of transactions increased by more than 50 percent, according to the report on the deputy governor’s remarks. The same report said the use of checks rose by 142 percent, while their value in Lebanese pounds rose by 105 percent, and dollar-denominated checks by 124 percent, with a 102 percent increase in their value.
It also described Banque du Liban tightening compliance and transparency standards through circulars and said all merchants should accept cards without any surcharges. The report further said the Ministry of Finance planned to install 52 electronic payment devices in its circuits, noting that 38 devices are currently distributed across the various governorates, with installation in Ministry of Finance circuits to be completed, and with additional work planned for the Ministries of Justice and Labor and the Ministry of Economy once security conditions improve.