Syria’s transitional government will begin distributing public sector salaries exclusively through Sham Cash, a digital payment app whose rollout has raised serious concerns about security and monopolisation. Marketed as a step toward "modernising" Syria’s financial system, this initiative risks deepening the country’s economic dysfunction and entrenching the very unaccountable practices that helped destabilise Syria in the first place.
In a country still reeling from years of war and international isolation, digitising the public payroll might seem like an overdue reform. But experts warn that the rushed, opaque rollout of Sham Cash—regardless of its stated objective— threatens to do more harm than good.
The app, which first emerged in Idlib under Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) control, bypasses both the Central Bank of Syria and the global financial system. Instead, it operates through Sham Bank—a money exchange office registered in Türkiye with no international recognition or regulatory oversight.
What makes Sham Cash especially alarming is its cybersecurity profile—or, more accurately, its lack of one. The app isn’t listed in official Android or iOS stores, meaning it has avoided even the most basic security vetting. Digital rights group SMEX rated it a high-risk platform, citing poor data encryption, ambiguous ownership, and the absence of a privacy policy, terms of use, or identifiable developer. In a country where data has long been exploited for state surveillance and control, that’s a dangerous combination.
More troubling is the app’s financial structure, which benefits Syria’s elites. Salaries can only be withdrawn through two money transfer companies—Al-Haram and Al-Fouad—both with longstanding ties to the former Assad regime. Together, they stand to collect around $3mn annually in commissions.
Warranted criticism
Economists have rightly criticised this arrangement as a revival of monopolistic practices, siphoning revenue from formal banks and concentrating financial power in opaque, unregulated networks.
Regardless of its short-term functionality, this reliance on Sham Cash and a limited number of money transfer companies, rather than integrating official banking channels, risks further empowering informal financial networks at the expense of Syria’s formal banking sector. Beyond weakening financial institutions, the opaque selection process for these authorised firms is likely to damage investor confidence in Syria’s already fragile economic environment.
Equally revealing is how Sham Cash acquired the infrastructure it now uses. Researchers have accused the Sham Cash app of absorbing Sawa—a platform that previously handled foreign remittances, seizing its assets and operational systems in the process. That consolidation reportedly alarmed other financial firms, many of which rushed to partner with Sham Cash out of fear of being targeted next. If confirmed, this isn’t a modernisation effort—it’s a digital power grab.
To be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with digitising public payroll systems. When done responsibly, it can expand financial inclusion, reduce administrative costs, improve salary access for civil servants, and build resilience in fragile economies.
