Darfur banking app highlights Sudan’s growing financial divide

The launch of a new banking application in Sudan’s Darfur region has intensified concerns about financial fragmentation in the country, with experts warning that parallel systems are emerging in areas outside the control of the central government, according to The New Arab on February 4, 2026.

Bankers and financial analysts said unlicensed digital platforms operating in western Sudan, including territories controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, risk undermining legal and regulatory standards governing banking activity. They warned that such applications often lack safeguards related to liability, consumer protection and compliance with international rules aimed at preventing terrorism financing and money laundering.

A group of businessmen recently introduced an app branded “Al-Mustaqbal for Banking and Financial Services” in Darfur, offering money transfers and other services in areas where formal banks have largely ceased operating since the outbreak of war.

The move prompted the Central Bank of Sudan to issue a warning on January 28, stating that the entity does not hold a licence to conduct financial or banking activities. The bank said it remains the sole authority permitted to grant such licences and cautioned that using unregulated platforms could expose customers to the loss of funds, data breaches and a lack of legal recourse.

The statement also said dealings with unlicensed services violate Sudanese law, including anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.

Despite the warning, some traders in Darfur described the app as a temporary solution to restrictions on financial transfers that have disrupted commercial activity. A local trader said electronic banking tools had increasingly been used as a security measure by rival authorities, limiting access to funds and complicating business operations.

The region is also grappling with a currency shortage after the government replaced high-value banknotes last year. Much of the cash still circulating consists of older notes, which traders say remain in use under pressure from RSF authorities.

Financial experts cautioned that creating banking services without official oversight could breach international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force, potentially isolating the region from the global financial system and exposing users to fraud or theft.

With many state banks shut, residents have relied heavily on the Bank of Khartoum’s Bankak mobile service. However, reports of monitoring and restrictions on users have further complicated access to salaries and payments, worsening liquidity shortages.

Analysts said the developments point to the formation of a “dual economy” in Sudan, with parallel systems handling transactions, salaries and customs revenue outside the central bank’s authority. Such fragmentation, they warned, risks weakening financial sovereignty and deepening economic instability in the conflict-affected country.

The New Arab, Maghrebi.org