CBL Governor Issa launches initiatives and reviews achievements at Tripoli financial literacy conference

Central Bank of Libya Governor Naji Issa used the opening of the 2026 Arab Conference on Savings and Financial Literacy in Tripoli to announce a broad package of financial initiatives and highlight what he described as major gains at the bank.

The Central Bank plans to work with Libya Post to expand access to financial services across the country. It will also begin using Buna, the Arab payments platform, to strengthen regional financial integration and support cross-border trade and investment.

Issa said work had begun to connect Libya to China’s CIPS cross-border payment system, with the project expected to enter a pilot phase in early 2027. He also announced the Cyber 100 Initiative, which aims to qualify 100 young Libyan talents in banking cybersecurity.

Other initiatives include a national program to study and develop digital currencies in Libya, including options involving a central bank digital currency and stablecoins. Issa also announced “Tripoli of the Arab Alliance for Financial Culture,” a proposed regional framework for promoting financial culture and inclusion across the Arab world.

Reviewing his tenure, Issa said the bank introduced a financial inclusion strategy, digital payments, approvals for exchange bureaus and instant payment services. He said digital transactions rose from 71 billion dinars in October 2024 to 665 billion dinars in August 2026. Transactions through banking applications increased from 74 billion to 247 billion dinars, while card transactions doubled from 18 billion to 36 billion dinars. Digital-wallet transactions rose from 109 million to 703 million dinars.

Issa also said about 1.75 million of Libya’s 2.2 million employees had registered for the Instant Salary project. The system reduced salary disbursement time to less than one hour, he said. Transfers executed through the payment system reached approximately $177 billion.