Visa and Mastercard launch international card payments in Syria for the first time in over 15 years

For the first time in more than 15 years, someone in Damascus can swipe a Visa card and have it actually work. On August 27, Visa and Mastercard facilitated the first international card transactions in Syria, a milestone that would have been unthinkable just a year ago. The symbolic first transaction? Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa buying coffee at a Damascus restaurant with a Visa card. How Syria got reconnected Syria had been cut off from the global financial system for years, with sanctions tightening significantly after the civil war erupted in 2011. The country’s designation on the US state sponsors of terrorism list — first applied in 1979 — made it effectively radioactive for any American financial institution. That changed when the US removed Syria from the list, a decision that took effect after a 45-day congressional review period. The US Treasury subsequently confirmed that American financial institutions could establish relationships with Syrian clients once sanctions on relevant parties were lifted. But the technical groundwork started well before the official delisting. Visa and the Syrian Central Bank struck an agreement back in December 2025, and preparatory trial...