Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates sign TRY 198 billion AED 18 billion swap and MoUs on local currency settlement and payment system links

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) announced that it and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) have signed a bilateral Turkish lira–UAE dirham currency swap agreement, alongside two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to promote local-currency use in cross-border transactions and to interlink payment and messaging systems. The agreements were signed by CBRT Governor Fatih Karahan and CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama. The swap has a nominal size of TRY 198 billion and AED 18 billion and is intended to provide local-currency liquidity to support settlement of cross-border financial and commercial transactions. One MoU sets a framework to expand settlement in TRY and AED, including by establishing a local-currency settlement scope covering current and capital account transactions and by deepening information and experience sharing. The second MoU covers cooperation on cross-border payments and domestic payment cards in line with regulatory and supervisory requirements, encourages exchange of expertise on central bank digital currency platforms for individuals and institutions, and outlines integration of Türkiye’s FAST system with the UAE’s instant payment platform Aani through linking electronic systems and switches.