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Growth drives innovation. Global and regional banks are meeting rising demand with innovation, digital solutions, and cross-border connectivity.
The Middle East has become an area of intense focus and investment for banks, driven by rapid digital adoption, economic diversification—underscored by such ambitious investment projects as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the United Arab Emirates’ Vision 2030—and the region’s emergence as a global trade and logistics hub.
Best Bank for Transaction Banking | HSBC
“It’s an exciting time for transaction banking, and we’re committed to being the partner of choice for forward-looking international businesses,” says Kyle Boag, regional head of Global Payment Solutions for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey at HSBC.
HSBC prioritizes support for clients through innovation, international reach, and practical insight, he says—and delivering an outstanding client experience by combining advanced digital solutions with strong personal relationships. In cash management, the London-based global bank offers real-time treasury and payment capabilities built on secure connectivity for enhanced visibility and analysis. For trade, the bank continues to expand its market-leading HSBC Trade Solutions digital platform, supporting the transition to sustainable supply chains.
Best Bank for Cash Management | Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF)
Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) excels at balancing localized precision with global connectivity. In Saudi Arabia, BSF provides tailored tools such as its BSFglobal platform. The platform offers real-time account visibility and seamless transaction management alongside services including fund collection, payroll, and advanced merchant acquisition. Globally, BSF supplies secure and fast cross-border payments through its Swift MA-CUG messaging channel and extensive Vostro account network with banks around the world. As Saudi Arabia’s largest clearing bank for global institutions, BSF facilitates seamless liquidity management and global trade.
Best Bank for Financial Institutions | Kuwait Finance House (KFH)
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) plays a large role in advancing cross-border banking and strengthening correspondent networks, particularly since the 2022 acquisition by KFH of Bahrain-Based Ahli United Bank. KFH has a significant presence both regionally and globally, linking local markets with global financial opportunities through specialized Islamic finance products.
Best Bank for Long-Term Liquidity Management & Best Bank for Collections | First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
FAB offers innovative tools, including its Sustainable Account, and is developing a notice period account for higher yields. The bank assists clients with centralized group-treasury structures and in-house banks with automated fund movements and solutions such as dynamic limit monitoring and Real-Time FundCheck (RTFC) to prevent overdrafts. FAB’s online portal enables self-administration of intercompany lending (ICL) and cash sweep. FAB also streamlines collections via eDDS, the bank’s preauthorized direct debit service, and provides customizable APIs and host-to-host connectivity for enterprise resource planning integration.
Best Bank for Payments | Qatar National Bank (QNB)
In the realm of payments, initiatives unveiled by Qatar National Bank (QNB) include a modernized multicurrency payment platform, augmented cross-border collection solutions, virtual account management, and payments via distributed ledger technology. QNB is also enhancing its internal platforms for interbranch transfers, introducing novel deposit accounts with incentives, virtual cards and expanded international branch offerings.
Best Corporate Cross-Border Payments Solutions | Bank ABC
Complementing individual banks’ efforts, Buna—a crossborder, multicurrency payment platform operated by the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization—aims to connect regional clients for instant cross-border payments and settlements. Bahrain-based Bank ABC partnered with the Central Bank of Bahrain and J.P. Morgan to pilot Buna and has since scaled it for corporate clients, intending to transform crossborder banking by enabling swift international fund transfers.
Best Provider of Short-Term Investments/Money Market Funds | Banque Misr
Addressing short-term investment needs, Banque Misr’s Youm b Youm fund, Egypt’s largest money market fund, reached a valuation of nearly 33 billion Egyptian pounds (about $666 million) in May, helping to earn Banque Misr the title of Best Provider of Short-Term Investments/Money Market Funds. Youm b Youm functions as an Egyptian pound-denominated current account directly integrated with the money market fund, meaning that investors get the liquidity and flexibility of a current account but with returns comparable to a savings deposit.
