The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) entered a strategic partnership with TerraPay on 13 October 2026. This agreement allows the bank to use the digital infrastructure of TerraPay to simplify cross-border payout operations. By leveraging the digital infrastructure provided by TerraPay, the National Bank of Bahrain aims to enhance the technical efficiency of its international money transfer services. This partnership allows NBB to leverage TerraPay's digital infrastructure to simplify cross-border payout operations for its diverse client base.
Vineet Munot, Group Head of Transaction Banking at NBB, stated: "International connectivity is becoming increasingly important to how our customers operate, and our role is to ensure that NBB’s transaction banking expertise continues to serve those needs with speed and reliability. This collaboration is a strategic step forward in scaling our payments proposition through infrastructure that can improve the cross-border transaction experience. Through TerraPay, we see an opportunity to connect our customers in Bahrain and the region with a wider range of payment destinations, supporting their growth as their requirements become more global."
Expanding Global Payment Reach
TerraPay’s network provides access to more than 12 billion bank accounts, digital wallets, and local payment systems. The integration utilizes Swift ISO 20022 messaging to facilitate real-time, secure cross-border transactions. This technical framework ensures that the National Bank of Bahrain can maintain high standards of transaction security while meeting the growing demand for instantaneous global fund transfers.
Ani Sane, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at TerraPay, addressed the operational requirements of financial institutions regarding this development. "Banks want to extend their international payment reach without having to build and maintain separate connections into every market, wallet and local payment system," Sane said. "That is exactly the problem TerraPay solves. By combining TerraPay’s global payout network with Swift connectivity, NBB can use its existing banking infrastructure to access more than 12 billion bank accounts, digital wallets and local payment systems through a single global network."
Sane added that the arrangement offers specific functional advantages for the National Bank of Bahrain. "This partnership gives NBB a faster and more scalable way to expand into new corridors, broaden customer choice and improve the cross-border payment experience, while allowing the bank to retain control of the customer relationship and its core banking infrastructure. NBB is a strong example of how leading banks are choosing TerraPay to extend traditional correspondent banking into the rapidly growing world of instant payments and digital wallets." By streamlining these complex backend processes, the National Bank of Bahrain positions itself to better serve the evolving needs of its institutional and individual clients across international markets.
