MANAMA, BAHRAIN: Bahrain Clear (BHC), a fully owned subsidiary of Bahrain Bourse signed a cooperation agreement with “BENEFIT”, the leading electronic transactions company, under which Bahrain Clear will join the Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS).
The agreement was signed by Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bahrain Clear Sh. Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, and BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abdulwahed AlJanahi.
The agreement allows investors, brokers, custodians and issuers to pay fees and commissions of all services provided by Bahrain Clear, smoothly and in a secure manner.
The service will be available to the public through Fawateer’s service on all e-banking platforms. Throughout the agreement, BENEFIT seeks to provide ancillary services for the financial sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
On the occasion, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa stated that Bahrain Clear had opted to adopt the Electronic Fund Transfer System in order to streamline all payments and facilitate the payment process for all investors, brokers, and issuers, going in line with Bahrain Clear’s strategy to adopt the latest technology in order to reduce the time and effort required for payment and settlement.
Abdulwahed AlJanahi stressed BENEFIT’s pride in Bahrain Clear joining the Electronic Fund Transfer System, noting that the company is looking forward to enhancing its relations with BHB through deployment of more electronic payment systems.
AlJanahi explained that BENEFIT offers a wide range of distinguished electronic services that support the shift to electronic financial payments and transfers, which contributes to serving the business sector, and saves a lot of effort, time and money, noting that the company will continue providing new services that contribute to the development of the financial sector.
BENEFIT was established in November 1997 by 17 commercial banks as the National ATM and Point of Sale switch of Bahrain. It was initially licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to be ‘the provider of ancillary services for the financial sector. It specialises in the development of innovative e-payment solutions, and provision and management of multiple electronic channels for payment and settlement of dues, bills and transfers.
It is worth noting that Bahrain Clear was established in June 2017 as a clearing house licensed by Central Bank of Bahrain. Bahrain Clear is a fully owned subsidiary of Bahrain Bourse with a disclosed capital of 5 million Dinars, and a paid up capital of 1 million Dinars.
Bahrain Clear offers pre and post trade services to investors as well as a range of services including transactions depository, clearing, settlement, central registry and registration.