Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 23 November 2025: HE Khalid Humaidan, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future of cross-border payments, noting that AI-driven tools will become central to global efforts aimed at making international transactions faster, safer, more cost-efficient and inclusive. HE also highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in financial services, in addition to ultimately reducing friction in cross border payments.

These remarks came during HE’s participation in a high-level panel discussion titled “AI and the Future of Cross-Border Payments”, held as part of the Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Summit in Riyadh.

During the session, HE highlighted the importance of cross-border payments in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the transformational role AI can play by making cross-border payments faster, safer and more efficient as part of the broader effort to leverage digital tools to strengthen the financial services sector.

HE underscored the importance of closer collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing more effective data-driven models for financial services. He emphasized that regulators play a critical role in managing privacy, cybersecurity risk, and data-governance challenges at both local and international levels, which in turn strengthens financial oversight, reduce systemic risks, and enhances consumer protection and compliance.

HE cited the Kingdom of Bahrain’s instant payments system as a successful example of this collaborative approach, highlighting its high adoption rates and ongoing efforts to link the system with international networks.

Commenting on the future of payments, HE stated that removing friction from cross-border payments will have large economic benefits. He added that as a regulator, the CBB will continue to focus on safeguarding data and maintaining trust, while emerging technologies will continue to enhance the speed and efficiency of global payment systems.

The panel also included HE Abdulaziz Abanmi, Deputy Governor for Payments at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA); Ali Bailoun, General Manager for Visa in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Oman; and Uzair Kapadia, Head of Product and Cash Management for Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan.