The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that the share of retail consumer electronic payments -one of the Financial Sector Development Program’s KPIs- reached 70% of total retail payments in 2023, up from 62% in 2022.
This achievement is attributed “to the significant growth of payments processed through national payment systems in 2023, which reached 10.8 billion transactions compared to 8.7 billion transactions in 2022.”
In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (or KSA) has reportedly “witnessed rapid growth in the adoption of electronic payments as a result of an integrated, strategic, and collaborative approach across the financial community.”
The evolving cost-effective and reliable e-payment / digital payments system reportedly “helps enhance transaction efficiency, and support financial stability.”
SAMA says that it will continue its efforts “to provide payment choices and promote the use of digital payments through further development of the national payments infrastructure and enhancement of payment related services.”
Additionally, it will work with its partners in order “to facilitate economic activities.”
This update comes at a time of increasing economic activity and investments channeled towards initiatives in Saudi Arabia and the larger MENA region. Notably, it was reported recently that MENA region startups acquired over $400 million in funding during the first quarter of 2024. Moreover, the Middle East is now considered a major economic and innovation hub globally.
In a separate announcement from SAMA, it was noted that the regulatory authority has licensed “Funding Souq” to provide debt-based crowdfunding solutions. With “Funding Souq,” there are now (10) authorized companies “offering debt-based crowdfunding solutions in Saudi Arabia.”
This addition brings the total number of finance companies “licensed and permitted by SAMA to (61) companies.”
This decision reflects SAMA’s endeavor to “support the financial sector, increase efficiency of financial transactions, and promote innovative financial solutions for financial inclusion in Saudi Arabia.”
SAMA emphasizes the importance of “dealing exclusively with authorized financial institutions.”
To view licensed and permitted financial institutions, you may access SAMA’s official website.