International payment systems provider Vocalink, a Mastercard company, announced last week it has partnered with the Saudi Payments, a fully owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), to launch real-time payments in Saudi Arabia.
According to Vocalink, the partnership will enable account-to-account payments to be made instantly between financial institutions, businesses and consumers, a market-first in the country. It was revealed:
“The new technology will positively impact the Kingdom’s economy by upgrading its payments infrastructure, significantly speeding up digital commerce and enabling newer fintechs and financial institutions to take advantage of the benefits of a digital economy.”
While sharing more details about the collaboration, Ziad Bin Bandar Al-Yousef, Managing Director, Saudi Payments stated:
“Saudi Payments commitment to be key player in transforming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a cashless society is at the heart of our strategy and aligned with the kingdom’s Vision 2030, as prescribed in the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP). We believe the Kingdoms’ consumers and businesses will benefit tremendously from leveraging the power of real-time payments and help the Kingdom to a smooth transition to the digital economy. Our partnership with Vocalink and IBM to enable instant payments between financial institutions, businesses and consumers will introduce innovative solutions that will benefit our society for generations.”
J.K. Khalil, General Manager of Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, Mastercard added:
“Real-time payments are transforming the financial services sector globally, showcasing tremendous potential in creating efficiencies across national economies and redefining the overall experience for users in Saudi. Our partnership with Saudi Payments will foster further innovation across the Kingdom. We see this is a significant step in enabling the Kingdom’s transition towards a more digital economy.”