🇸🇾 Sending to Syrian Arab Republic¶
SY · SYR
Restricted — sanctions FATF grey list National format SWIFT BIC required
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Sanctions Restrictions
GIB does not process payments to this destination. Submissions will be blocked by sanctions screening. Any exception requires written pre-authorization from GIB Compliance before submission.
FATF Increased Monitoring
This jurisdiction is on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. FATF does not call for enhanced due diligence on that basis, but asks institutions to take the listing into account in their risk analysis.
Required information¶
For your end users
This country is subject to comprehensive sanctions. Wires may be blocked, returned, or held by screening. Consult your compliance team before initiating any transfer.
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-21. Reference material only.
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Currency
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Typical settlement
1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review.
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SWIFT BIC
Required
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Local clearing
RTGS (Central Bank of Syria) — sanctioned
Account format¶
How beneficiary account numbers are structured for Syrian Arab Republic. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format tier | National format |
| Length | Syria is not in the SWIFT IBAN Registry; domestic accounts use Central Bank of Syria assigned bank codes plus account numbers, format not publicly standardized |
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for Syrian Arab Republic.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| CBoS bank code | Required |
| Local clearing | RTGS (Central Bank of Syria) — sanctioned |
Address format¶
How Syrian Arab Republic expects the beneficiary address to appear on the wire. Free-form variations frequently trigger compliance holds.
- Recipient Name
- Street, Building
- District, City
- SYRIA
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Postal code | Optional — this country has no postal code format |
Purpose of payment¶
Put the purpose in the remittance information (<RmtInf><Ustrd>) of the ISO 20022 wire-creation request, as the code format below describes.
Requirement: Mandatory
GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.
Not yet confirmed
We have not yet confirmed this country's purpose-of-payment requirement against a central-bank or correspondent-bank source. Including a purpose is recommended. We update these guides as we confirm each country.
Non-standard element
For Syrian Arab Republic, the purpose is placed in <RmtInf> (remittance info), not the standard <Purp> element.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code format | Free-text; list-based OFAC sanctions (PAARSSR) still apply |
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | SYP |
| Typical settlement | 1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Known issues:
- MATERIAL CHANGE: On June 30, 2025, E.O. 'Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions' rescinded the core US Syria sanctions framework effective July 1, 2025. On August 26, 2025, OFAC removed 31 CFR Part 542 (Syrian Sanctions Regulations) from the CFR. US comprehensive embargo is no longer in effect.
- Replacement program: PAARSS retains targeted sanctions on Assad-era actors, Captagon traffickers, ISIS / AQ affiliates, and Iran-linked actors operating in Syria.
- EU and UK have eased but NOT fully lifted Syria sanctions; a US-permitted wire may still be EU or UK prohibited.
- Wires still require OFAC compliance pre-clearance against the residual PAARSS SDN entries and the EU / UK lists; FATF grey-list enhanced due diligence applies.
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
All wires subject to sanctions screening hold and compliance review.
Beneficiary name mismatch.
Missing or invalid SWIFT/BIC code.
Insufficient remittance information.
Beneficiary or beneficiary bank on OFAC / EU / UN / UK sanctions list.
Residual OFAC designations under PAARSS (Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization Sanctions) program targeting Assad, associates, human rights abusers, Captagon network, and Iran / IRGC proxies in Syria.
EU sanctions on Syria remain partially in force (Council Regulation 36/2012, as amended).
UK OFSI Syria regime still active.
FATF grey list: Syria remains on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
Severely degraded correspondent-banking access; most Syrian banks lack USD correspondents.
Counterparty match against UN 1267 / ISIL-Al-Qaida list (active in Syrian theater).
Validate before you send¶
Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.
BIC lookup
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References¶
First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.
Disclaimer
These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.
Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.
For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.
Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.