Can the “SUBA” Service Replace Electronic Clearing Between Banks?

Businesspeople are urging the swift activation and resumption of electronic clearing in banks as soon as possible. Former Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce, Hashim Al-Fadil, told Al-Ahdath that the suspension of clearing between banks has slowed economic activity. He noted that banks have yet to print new checkbooks and emphasized the importance of issuing new checks, at least with a start date.

Muaawia Aba Yazeed, Head of the Employers’ Association, stressed the need to reactivate clearing between banks, pointing out that the harm extends beyond customers to banks themselves. Recently, the announcement of the launch of the “SUBA” service for free interbank transfers was made. Ibrahim Mahmoud Al-Laily, Director of Omdurman National Bank, explained that SUBA involves transfers between a group of banks. It is not affiliated with the Electronic Services Company, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Sudan, which managed the bank transfer platform before the war. This platform was suspended during the war along with the clearing process.

Speaking to Al-Ahdath, Al-Laily clarified that SUBA was established through an agreement among a group of banks that preferred to work in closed groups with mutual understandings. This allows their customers to conduct internal transfers among the participating banks.

However, Al-Laily considered that unless these operations are under the Central Bank of Sudan’s management, they will not function optimally or achieve the desired benefits. He confirmed that the Central Bank is aware of the initiative but does not oversee it. Instead, it benefits customers of the banks within the group. He announced the launch of SUBA as a free interbank transfer service, pending the return of the EBS and SDP platforms, noting that all three are interbank connection platforms.

The banks currently linked through this service include Blue Nile Bank, Mashreq Bank, Al Baraka Bank, Al Nilein Bank, Al Salam Bank, Saudi Bank, and the Animal Resources Bank. The Director of the Agricultural Bank acknowledged the significant harm caused to both customers and banks due to the suspension of clearing and predicted that SUBA could largely replace clearing, improve customer service, and ensure fairness for banks.

Omdurman National Bank announced the completion of technical linkage procedures with the Electronic Banking Services Company (EBS) in preparation for launching interbank transfers using the Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN) through the O-Cash application. Earlier, a group of Sudanese banks announced the initiation of their interconnection process, enabling customers to make financial transfers using the IBAN via banking applications. This step aims to improve banking services and facilitate financial transactions among customers.

The question remains: Can the SUBA service replace electronic clearing between banks, or is there no alternative to traditional clearing?