Regulated fintech in Bahrain allows crypto payments with Binance

The Central Bank of Bahrain gives the permission to EazyPay, to launch crypto payments for more than 5,000 payment gateways in the country.

Cryptocurrency adoption continues rising in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with local companies enabling payments in crypto like Bitcoin(BTC).

EazyPay, an online payment platform regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has combined with Binance Pay to permit crypto payments in the country, on Wednesday EazyPay CEO and founder Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi declared.

The recently launched crypto payment option will be available in more than 5,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online payment gateway across Bahrain, the CEO declared.

Major local merchants and firms, including Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG, Al Zain Jewelry and Jasmi’s, will be able to receive more than 70 cryptocurrencies as payment by scanning the QR code from Eazy’s POS using Binance App.

Al Alawi underlined that ‎‏Eazy Financial Services is licensed and regulated by Bahrain’s central bank as the fifth POS and online payment gateway acquirer and payment services provider.

“Special thanks go to the Central Bank of Bahrain, Binance and Eazy Financial Services,” he noted. Khalid Hamad Al Hamad, executive director of the banking supervision at the CBB.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that EazyPay’s crypto payment feature would be the “first regulated and approved crypto payments service offering” in the Middle East and North Africa region. As previously reported, Binance received several regulatory approvals in Bahrain, including a crypto service provider license and the Category 4 license.

The third-smallest country in Asia, Bahrain, has been actively adopting cryptocurrency over the past few years. In 2019, the CBB issued a framework for a range of crypto-related activities, officially establishing rules for licensing, governance, risk management, Anti-Money Laundering standards, reporting, security and other rules for crypto-asset services.

Bahrain has been enthusiastically experimenting with crypto and blockchain technology since adopting crypto regulations. In January 2022, in collaboration with JPMorgan’s blockchain and cryptocurrency unit Onyx the CBB completed a digital payments trial. CoinMENA, regulated by the CBB, in June announced plans to expand its crypto trading services into Egypt.