Digital transaction volume in Bahrain jumped 7.6 per cent in the first half of 2026, with Benefit processing 261.2 million transactions across the Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS) worth BD19.3 billion.
Total value across bank channels and the BenefitPay app rose 6.1pc year-on-year from BD18.2bn recorded during the same period in 2025.
The BenefitPay application alone accounted for 246m transactions worth BD5.4bn across all EFTS services, representing a 7.2pc increase in both volume and value compared to H1 2025.
Among the individual services, Fawri+ recorded 248.1m transactions valued at BD5.4bn across all channels, up 8pc in volume and 17.7pc in value. Fawri+ transfers conducted specifically through BenefitPay rose 7.6pc to 241m, with total value increasing 13.1pc to BD4.8bn.
Meanwhile, Fawri processed 7.3m transactions across all channels – a 3.5pc rise – with total value up 1.8pc to BD13.2bn. Fawri transactions via BenefitPay, however, fell 56pc in volume to 145,800 and dropped 34.2pc in value to BD400.5m. Overall Fawateer volume eased by 4pc to 5.7m transactions, though total value surged 11.4pc to BD672.4m. Fawateer payments via BenefitPay reached 4.9m transactions (down 4.8pc) valued at BD262.6m (up 8.1pc).
Operationally, the Bahrain Credit Reference Bureau issued 11,100 consumer and corporate credit reports, marking a slight 0.2pc increase, and processed 249,100 credit enquiries (up 1.3pc) during the six-month period.
Key strategic developments during H1 included rolling out digital Direct Debit on BenefitPay alongside the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA), introducing Scheduled Transfers and personal home-screen QR codes, and partnering with Rain to make it the first licensed crypto-asset platform in the kingdom to accept BenefitPay payments.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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