Central Bank of Jordan and MENA Fintech Association Launch Quarterly Fintech Dialogue, Point to a Shift From Foundation-Building to Ecosystem Activation

First session details CliQ’s growth to 1.6 million users, an open finance framework due by year-end, and Jordan’s new virtual asset licensing regime

 

AMMAN, Jordan Aug 19: The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) and the MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) held the first session of a new Quarterly Fintech Update Series on June 25, 2026, bringing banks, fintech companies, investors and regulators together to discuss the next stage of Jordan’s digital finance sector.

The session was led by Abdulrahman Al-ababneh, Assistant Executive Manager at the Central Bank of Jordan, and chaired by Nameer Khan, Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association. It covered digital payments, open finance, virtual assets, the regulatory sandbox and cross-border payment plans, and closed with a moderated question and answer session on tokenization, stablecoins, buy now pay later financing and non-resident access to Jordan’s payment systems.

MFTA framed the session as the start of an ongoing dialogue with CBJ and described Jordan not as an emerging fintech market but as an established and increasingly strategic one for the region.

Key figures shared at the session

CliQ, Jordan’s instant payment system, had reached 1.66 million users through bank accounts and JOD 12.2 billion (US$17.1 billion) in account-based transaction value by 2024, up from a standing start in 2017. Wallet-based instant payments through JoMoPay added a further JOD 5.1 billion (US$7.1 billion) in transaction value across 2.58 million users, up from 216,000 users and JOD 6.5 million (US$9.1 million) in transaction value in 2017.

An updated open finance framework, covering both Account Information Services and Payment Initiation Services, is expected by the end of 2026.

The Virtual Asset Dealing Law (June 2025) and the VASP Licensing By Law (November 2025) now form the legal core of Jordan’s virtual asset framework, with licensing split between the Jordan Securities Commission and CBJ.

CBJ’s regulatory sandbox has received 29 applications to date, with nine currently in testing and four in the express sandbox track, including the country’s first virtual asset, BNPL and insurtech pilots.

CliQ and JoMoPay: growth since 2017

Metric	2017	2024
Users via bank accounts (CliQ)	0	1.66 million
Users via e-wallets (JoMoPay)	216,000	2.58 million
Transaction value, bank accounts	Negligible	JOD 12.2 billion (US$17.1 billion)
Transaction value, e-wallets	JOD 6.5 million (US$9.1 million)	JOD 5.1 billion (US$7.1 billion)
Transaction volume, bank accounts	0	84 million transactions
Transaction volume, e-wallets	164,319 transactions	56.8 million transactions

Figures in Jordanian dinars; JOD 1 = US$1.4.

Statements

“Jordan’s fintech progress was never only about new technology. It has been about building the legal certainty, infrastructure and institutional trust that let innovation take hold safely. With CliQ now past 1.6 million users and our open finance framework moving toward implementation, we’re shifting from putting the foundation in place to actively growing the ecosystem, without giving up the oversight that keeps the market stable.” Abdulrahman Al-ababneh, Assistant Executive Manager, Central Bank of Jordan

“Jordan is showing what a regulator-led approach to fintech growth can look like. The instant payment numbers alone make the case: 1.6 million CliQ users and JOD 12.2 billion moving through the system. Add a virtual asset law, an open finance framework due this year and an active sandbox, and you have a market that’s ready for real investment, not just conversation. We’re glad to start this dialogue with the Central Bank of Jordan and expect these sessions to become a fixture for our members.” Nameer Khan, Chairman, MENA Fintech Association

Five stages of development

CBJ presented its fintech progress as a five-stage build: setting an initial vision, strengthening core payment infrastructure, shaping enabling regulation, catalyzing innovation through the sandbox and open finance testing, and now working toward regional leadership as Jordan positions itself as a fintech hub.

What’s next

CBJ confirmed that work is underway on CliQ Plus, a cross-border extension of the instant payment system, developed with the instant payment system operator and payment service providers alongside licensed exchange houses to protect existing market participants. On tokenization, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies, CBJ said these remain under study and are not yet part of a formal regulatory framework.