ShetabIran’s single national card switch, which every Iranian bank must join. It is connected to Russia’s Mir network (2024) and historically to banks in Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, making it one of the few rails operating at scale outside the Visa/Mastercard system.Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI) · since 200226 member banks; about 57,000 ATMs connected in 2019 (54,300 at the end of 2017), per Wikipedia / CBI.
Global registry · Africa & Middle East · West Asia
Iran Payment systems
7 systems listed.
This country doesn’t have a written market analysis yet: e-commerce shares, regulator, and key players are still to be documented. The systems below, however, are verified.
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Payments in East AfricaPayments in Portuguese-speaking and southern AfricaMobile money in AfricaPayments in West and Southern AfricaPayments in the CEMAC zonePayments in the Gulf and the Middle EastAccepting payments in AfricaAccepting payments in Egypt and the MaghrebAccepting payments in the GulfCollecting payments in Kenya and East AfricaCollecting payments in Nigeria and West AfricaPayments in Africa: the continent that reinvented mobile money
Card schemes
Instant payments
SAHABCard-to-card transfers between member banks of Shetab, Iran’s interbank card switch, at a branch, an ATM, or through online banking. It is the most common form of P2P payment in Iran.Central Bank of Iran · since 2007
SATNAIran’s rial RTGS, which settles every interbank transaction in the country.Central Bank of Iran · since 2006
Clearing and settlement
CHAKAVAKCheque Imaging System that digitized the clearing of Iranian checks, which are still widely used in local B2B trade.Central Bank of Iran · since 2012
PAYAIran’s automated clearing house: bulk batch transfers with intraday settlement cycles, the rail for salaries and direct debits.Central Bank of Iran · since 2009
Acquiring and processing
ShaparakThe body that supervises and centralizes all card acquiring in Iran (POS and e-commerce): no Iranian PSP can operate outside Shaparak.Shaparak (subsidiary of National Informatics Corporation, part of the CBI (Central Bank of Iran) group) · since 2012
Other
TABASettlement system for dematerialized securities (SSSS). Worth knowing to understand how securities and cash settlement fit together with SATNA.Central Bank of Iran