87% of Lebanese have access to the internet.
Lebanon
No Open Banking
According to the Global Findex Database, 21% of adults in Lebanon had bank accounts in 2021, leaving 79% unbanked.
Political wrangling over ministerial posts exacerbated Lebanon’s severe economic crisis, which pushed nearly 80% of the population into poverty, according to the UN.
Before cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Manama in Bahrain, Beirut was considered to be the main financial hub of the Middle East. However, Lebanon had a challenging economic and political situation already before the pandemic and the Beirut explosion. Lebanon was showing some promising Fintech growth; however, how it actually plays out depends largely on Lebanon’s economic recovery.
Lebanon ranked 77th out of 134 in Wiley’s Digital Skills Gap Index (DSGI) 2021.
Lebanon does not have a Fintech sandbox yet. However, as the neighbouring countries have been launching theirs, Lebanon is expected to follow suit soon.