Online payments for stores in Syria (2026): what actually works.

The short answer

Which payment methods can your store in Syria accept today?

If your customers are inside Syria, the practical options today are cash on delivery and local mobile wallets. Cash is still the most widely used. Al Jazeera (August 2026) cited research-center estimates that only about two million Syrians hold a bank account, measured against the adult population before 2011. And the new e-payment system neither abolishes cash nor requires any specific payment method.^[3][8]

The new rules

What changed in e-payment rules in 2026?

Three decisions set new e-payment rules this year, and the Central Bank announced all three. Here are the key points, with dates:

• May 4, 2026, Decision 259: the Central Bank allowed banks and authorized e-payment companies operating in the country to work with global payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard. SANA said the aim is to let visitors use their international cards, support local cards abroad, and promote e-commerce. The decision opens the door, but it doesn't mean every bank or wallet is connected yet.
• August 18, 2026, Decision 1124: the Central Bank announced a new payment and e-transfer system, issued by the General Secretariat of the Presidency. It covers three types of providers that need Central Bank approval: payment service providers, e-money service providers, and payment system operators. It sets up a testing sandbox for new services, plus rules for customer identity checks and consumer protection. It doesn't abolish cash, and the Central Bank said it doesn't make international links and transfers available right away.
• September 20, 2026, Decision 616: the Central Bank issued the first implementing rules for Decision 1124. They cover the approval requirements and procedures for payment providers, capital and financial-collateral requirements, and how existing providers bring themselves into line.

^[1][2][3][4]

Under the compliance rules issued on September 20, 2026:

• A provider that has applied keeps running its current services while its application is reviewed, but it can't launch any new service until final approval.
• Providers that offered payment services without Central Bank approval must disclose their activity and submit a plan of no more than six months.
• Telecom companies that want to comply must set up a separate company for payments within six months at most.

^[5]

The rules don't name any provider, and as of this guide's date we found no published outcome for any application. So wallet services or terms may change during this period. Ask your provider before you build your store around one.^[5]

An older decision is still in force, according to the Central Bank's website. Decision 493 (April 22, 2024) caps the commission banks and e-payment companies can take on purchases through e-payment channels at 1% of the invoice value. That's a ceiling for those providers, not necessarily the fee you'll be charged, so ask your provider for its price in writing.^[6]

Cards

Can your customers pay by Visa or Mastercard?

In a shop, yes, but in a limited way. In late August 2026, the first purchases with international cards went through on card terminals in shops inside Syria. On September 3, 2026, SANA said the experience was still in its early stages, and described card payment as an extra option alongside cash, not a replacement. It said the aim is to give visitors and expatriates more flexibility when they spend at hotels and restaurants.^[7]

For online stores, as of this guide's date we found no official source confirming that a store in the country can accept these cards online. So we don't promise online card payments for a store selling in Syria until the Central Bank or your bank makes a clear official announcement.

Processors and sanctions

Can a store in Syria use a global payment processor?

Each global payment processor decides which countries it serves. On September 29, 2026, we checked Stripe's official list of available countries. Syria wasn't on it.^[14]

Easing sanctions doesn't require any payment company to serve a country; each company decides for itself. So we go by the company's own page, and we check it before every project.

Here are dated facts on sanctions from official pages:

• United States: Executive Order 14312 (June 30, 2025) ended the Syria sanctions program as of July 1, 2025. Sanctions on specific people and groups remain, including those on Bashar al-Assad and his associates, human rights abusers, and Captagon traffickers.
• The page of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says the Caesar Act was repealed on December 18, 2025.
• On August 31, 2026, the Federal Register published the rescission of Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, which the US Secretary of State authorized on August 24, 2026.
• European Union: lifted its economic sanctions on Syria in May 2025, except measures based on security grounds. In May 2026, it renewed targeted measures on the former regime until June 1, 2027.

^{[15][16][17][18]}

In short, not all sanctions have been lifted. This is dated general information, not legal advice, so check the official pages listed in the sources.

Before you launch

How do you set up payments for your store, step by step?

1. 01

   Know where your customers are

   If they're inside Syria, start with cash on delivery and one or more local wallets. If they're in another country, choose the payment methods available to your business there.

2. 02

   Open the merchant account in your name

   The merchant account should be in your name or your business's name, never in someone else's. According to Syriatel's official pages as shown in search results, you open a merchant account at a Syriatel service center with the required documents. We couldn't open those pages on September 29, 2026, so ask the service center which documents it needs before you go. For other wallets, ask the provider through its official channels about the account type and the documents it needs.

3. 03

   Get fees and payouts in writing

   We found no dated official fee table for merchants on these wallets. Ask the provider for its fees, and when and where you'll receive your money, before you set your prices.

4. 04

   Decide how you'll confirm each payment

   The only WooCommerce plugin we found for Syriatel Cash, Sham Cash, and MTN Cash comes from an independent developer, and it relies on confirming each payment by hand, not on an official connection. So decide who on your team matches payments to orders, and when.

5. 05

   Write your store's payment policy

   State clearly which payment methods you accept, when an order counts as paid, and what happens if it isn't paid on delivery.

6. 06

   Check the rules now and then

   Compliance plans can run up to six months and may change what the wallets offer. Check the Central Bank and provider pages before any big change to your store.

^[5][9][13]

Maizny

How can the Maizny team help?

We build your online store and connect the payment methods your business needs. Local methods we connect in Syria include Sham Cash, Syriatel Cash, MTN Cash, and cash on delivery. Before we start, your quote lists the payment methods we'll connect and how your team will confirm each payment.

We don't promise a payment method that no official source confirms, and the merchant account stays in your name. Service details are on our websites and online stores page, and you can print a first draft of your quote from the home page. Both links are at the end of this guide.

Read next

Related pages.

• Websites and online storesOpen item
• Print a first draft of your quoteOpen item
• Connecting your store to Sham CashOpen item
• Opening an online store in SyriaOpen item
• What an online store costsOpen item