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Visa transaction marks Syria’s return to global financial system, Al-Sharaa swipes card for coffee purchase
RIYADH: Would that be cash or card, Mr. President?
With a simple tap on a payment machine in Damascus, President Ahmed Al-Sharaa marked Syria’s removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and the Arab country’s return to the global financial system.
In a video release early Thursday, Al-Sharaa used a Visa card to pay for coffee as he sat with Safwat Raslan, the country’s central bank governor.
Raslan posted the video on X, saying: “To witness this moment with His Excellency President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, and for the first payment using a Visa card to take place in the heart of Damascus on the day following Syria’s removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, is, for me, a feeling that is difficult to put into words.”
أن نشهد هذه اللحظة مع فخامة السيد الرئيس أحمد الشرع @AH_AlSharaa وأن تتم أول عملية دفع باستخدام ببطاقة فيزا @Visa في قلب دمشق في اليوم التالي لرفع اسم سوريا من قائمة الدول الراعية للإرهاب، هو بالنسبة لي شعور يصعب اختصاره بالكلمات
— Safwat Raslan (صفوت رسلان) (@SafwatRaslan) August 26, 2026
بداية جديدة نحمل فيها الكثير من الأمل و المسؤولية pic.twitter.com/xbH7Kge9Re
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement: “Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability.”
Rebels led by Al-Sharaa overthrew long-time Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in December 2024 after a devastating 13 year civil war.
Al-Sharaa welcomed the decision, saying: “Syria shakes off a dark stain and tears away a painful chapter of its past to embark on a path of development, reconstruction and rebuilding”.
