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2025-01-01

Palestine Monetary Authority Circular No. 182/2025: Handling Payment Systems During 2026 Holidays and Official Occasions

The Palestine Monetary Authority issued Circular No. 182/2025 to regulate the operation of payment systems, specifically the Barq RTGS and Electronic Cheque Clearing systems, during official holidays in 2026. The circular mandates that banks maintain internal inter-bank settlements and liquidity while suspending external transfer requests on days when currency centers or Israeli banking systems are closed. It further reserves the Authority's right to reverse non-compliant transactions and reserves the right to update holiday schedules for any special or emergency occasions.

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Palestine Monetary Authority

PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY

Circular No. (182 / 2025)
To all banks operating in Palestine
Date: Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Subject: Handling Payment Systems During the Period of Holidays and Official Occasions in 2026

Based on the provisions of Article No. (73) of Law No. (9) of 2010 concerning Banks, and for the purpose of regulating the operation of payment systems managed by the Palestine Monetary Authority during periods of official occasions and holidays inside and outside Palestine, which result in the full or partial suspension of the Real-Time Gross Settlement system "Barq" and the Electronic Cheque Clearing system, we attach the following:

1. List of National Occasions and Religious Holidays in Palestine during 2026 that result in the complete suspension of banking operations, including the suspension of the Real-Time Gross Settlement system – Barq (RTGS) and the Electronic Cheque Clearing system (ECC):

OccasionDayDateHoliday Duration
New Year's DayThursday2026/01/01One day
Christmas Day - EastWednesday2026/01/07One day
Isra and Mi'raj¹27th of Rajab, 1447 AHOne day
International Women's DaySunday2026/03/08One day
Eid al-Fitr¹1st of Shawwal, 1447 AHStand and three days
Easter SundaySunday2026/04/12One day
Eid al-Adha¹10th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1447 AHStand and four days
Islamic New Year¹1st of Muharram, 1448 AHOne day
Prophet's Birthday¹12th of Rabi' al-Awwal, 1448 AHOne day
Independence DaySunday2026/11/15One day

2. List of External Occasions and Holidays during 2026 in countries of the currency centers circulating in the "Barq" settlement system, which are (Jordanian Dinar, US Dollar, and Euro), which affect settlement operations executed in the system partially:

OccasionDayDateCurrencyCurrency Center / Country
Martin Luther King Jr. DayMonday2026/01/19DollarUnited States of America
Presidents’ DayMonday2026/02/16DollarUnited States of America
Easter MondayMonday2026/04/06EuroEuropean Union
Ascension DayThursday2026/05/14EuroGermany
Independence DayDinarHashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Memorial DayMonday2026/05/25DollarUnited States of America
WhitmondayEuroGermany
Corpus ChristiThursday2026/06/04EuroGermany
Labor DayMonday2026/09/07DollarUnited States of America
Columbus DayMonday2026/10/12DollarUnited States of America
Veterans’ DayWednesday2026/11/11DollarUnited States of America
ThanksgivingThursday2026/11/26DollarUnited States of America
Christmas EveThursday2026/12/24EuroGermany
New Year’s EveThursday2026/12/31EuroGermany

3. List of days that coincide with official holidays in the currency center of the (Cheque), which result in the total or partial suspension of Israeli banking operations, which also affect settlement operations executed in the "Barq" system partially:

DayDateType of Holiday
Tuesday2026/03/03Full holiday
Wednesday2026/04/01Partial working day
Thursday2026/04/02Full holiday
Tuesday2026/04/07Partial working day
Wednesday2026/04/08Full holiday
Tuesday2026/04/21Partial working day
Thursday2026/05/21Full holiday
Thursday2026/07/23Full holiday
Sunday2026/09/13Full holiday
Sunday2026/09/20Full holiday
Monday2026/09/21Full holiday

4. In case of official holidays in the countries of the currency centers circulating in the "Barq" system and listed in one of the items (2) or (3) above, and for the purpose of regulating external and internal settlement operations, all banks must comply with the following:

a. Continue to execute internal banking settlement operations with all Inter-bank Operations as usual.

b. Commit to providing the necessary liquidity to cover the net debit positions in any of the bank accounts opened in the system.

c. Stop executing external transfer requests and feeding notifications on days that coincide with official holidays in the countries of the currency centers circulating in the system.

d. The Palestine Monetary Authority has the right to reverse and cancel external transfer requests and feeding notifications that are executed through the "Barq" system if they are received in violation of the above instructions, without referring to the bank executing the operation.

5. The Palestine Monetary Authority will update all banks in case of any modifications to the holidays and occasions mentioned above, or in case any special or emergency occasion arises.

Payment Systems Department
Palestine Monetary Authority

1 Islamic religious occasions, their Gregorian dates are determined according to lunar months.

www.pma.ps

Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate - Palestine P.O. Box 452
Postal code: P6160675 | Postal code: P6160675
Tel: +970 2 2415251 | Tel: +970 2 2415251
Fax: +970 2 2415310 | Fax: +970 2 2415310
info@pma.ps

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