bahrainthismonth.com | FEBRUARY 2026 FINTECH 59 Leadership Behind the Ledger As Assistant General Manager of Payment Services at BENEFIT, Shafaq Al Kooheji operates at the centre of Bahrain’s digital payments ecosystem. With more than 15 years at the organisation, she has played a key role in shaping the infrastructure that underpins everyday financial life in the Kingdom. BENEFIT underpins everyday life in Bahrain. How conscious are you of that responsibility in your day-to-day decision-making? Everything we design and every internal procedure we follow considers the needs, preferences and pain points of our customers. Being customer-centric is not a strategy. It is an everyday practice and part of our organisation’s culture and DNA. We have become a necessity for our community by making day-to-day payments easier, safer and more convenient. Payment systems are often invisible when they work well. What aspect of your role do you think is most misunderstood? Our infrastructure is intentionally designed to be invisible. Behind it is a large system and a dedicated team working 24/7 to ensure our services remain available, reliable and trusted. They take great pride in being unsung soldiers, seeing the impact of their work in a simple Fawri+ transaction processed in milliseconds. When customer journeys are impacted, the entire organisation shifts into high-alert mode. Once services are fully restored and transactions flow seamlessly again, there is a collective sense of relief. We never want to let our community down because we understand how critical our services are. During your time at BENEFIT, what change has most reshaped Bahrain’s payments landscape? Over more than 15 years, we have worked as one team towards a digital economy, converting payments block by block to cashless. I am proud to have led many national projects that became key enablers of the digital transformation we have seen over the past six years. The introduction of Fawri+ in 2015 and the launch of BenefitPay in 2017 laid the groundwork for digital adoption when the pandemic hit in 2020. Once people experienced the convenience of digital payments, there was no going back. Innovation moves quickly in digital payments. How do you decide when to move fast and when to prioritise caution? Prioritisation must always be driven by what customers consider most urgent. Today, customers expect far more than fast money transfers. They expect value-added services such as traceability, reconciliation and insights into spending behaviour. Caution comes into play when security is involved or when an innovation could negatively affect stakeholders within the ecosystem. What experiences have most strengthened your confidence as a leader in a highly regulated sector? The synergy between my role and both internal and external stakeholders has been essential. Working with high-calibre teams and maintaining strong relationships with the Central Bank has contributed greatly to my growth. Member banks’ reliance on my support has also shaped me as a leader. Constructive criticism, shared success and pressure to deliver highquality services within tight timelines have all been powerful learning experiences. Looking ahead, what are your key priorities for BENEFIT over the next 12 months? Our strategy rests on three pillars. First, perfecting the payment experience for Bahrain’s community. Second, delivering tangible products based on data analysis and insight. Third, expanding internationally, whether through interoperability with regional and global instant payment systems or by exporting our technology and success stories abroad.
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