Tagged: SAMA

September 29, 2025 @ 8:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the approval of using the “Visitor ID” for opening bank accounts at banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in “accordance with banks’ account opening rules.” The “Visitor ID,” issued by the Ministry of Interior, “serves as an official… Read More

January 2, 2025 @ 8:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licensed “Hiberbay Ink Al-Saoudia for IT Systems” to provide E-wallet solutions. With “Hiberbay Ink Al-Saoudia for IT Systems,” there are now 27 licensed firms providng payments services across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This decision reflects SAMA’s aim to support… Read More

December 29, 2024 @ 8:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licensed “Majd Saudi Payments” to provide E-wallet solutions. With Majd Saudi Payments, there are now “26 licensed companies offering payment services” in Saudi Arabia. This decision reflects SAMA’s goal to support the payments sector, increase the efficiency of financial transactions,… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has reportedly permitted two new Fintech startups to test their innovative solutions in SAMA’s regulatory sandbox. As noted in the update from SAMA, “Sulfah for Finance” is authorized to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform and “Wadaie for FinTech” to… Read More

June 17, 2024 @ 8:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank SAMA released the Annual Performance Report of the Saudi Finance and Real Estate Refinance Companies Sector for the year 2023. The report highlighted the sector’s developments and financials “during 2023, where the paid-up share capital for finance companies sector increased by… Read More

May 21, 2024 @ 9:48 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has officially licensed Hala Financing to provide debt-based crowdfunding solutions in Saudi Arabia, a significant step in broadening the financial services available within the kingdom. This recent authorization increases the total number of companies licensed to offer these services to… Read More

April 20, 2024 @ 6:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has opened registration for its fourth edition of the Investment Immersion Program (IIP) as from Wednesday, April 17, 2024 for six weeks. The program is an apprenticeship that aims “to employ and develop local investment professionals.” The program, which comprises… Read More

April 7, 2024 @ 8:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

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… Read More

March 1, 2024 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has partnered with Loop, a digital payments technology company licensed by SAMA, to empower businesses and consumers across the Kingdom with greater access to advanced credit card offerings and innovative payment solutions. The partnership will see Loop “expand its portfolio, enhance its… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 8:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on draft amendments to the “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions under the control and supervision of the Saudi Central Bank.” In this context, SAMA invites stakeholders to “provide suggestions and observations on the draft by… Read More

November 23, 2023 @ 7:40 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Lending platform Dnaneer Financing Co, has reportedly received authorization from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to operate a crowdfunding platform in Saudi Arabia. The authorization gives the company the go signal to offer debt-based crowdfunding solutions in the Kingdom, making it the eight fintech firm… Read More

October 15, 2023 @ 11:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issued its semi-annual performance report of the finance companies sector and real estate refinance for H1 2023. According to the report, most of the indicators in the finance companies sector “grew at varying rates in H1 2023.” The paid-up share… Read More

August 14, 2023 @ 8:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licensed “Loan” to provide consumer microfinance solutions through financial technology. With Loan, there are now six authorized companies “offering consumer microfinance solutions in Saudi Arabia.” This decision reflects SAMA‘s endeavor “to support the finance sector, increase efficiency of financial transactions,… Read More

July 9, 2023 @ 1:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announces the issuance of the Implementing Regulations for the Law of Payments and Payment Services “to support the objective of enhancing soundness and efficiency of the payment systems infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.” The relevant regulatory and supervisory frameworks enable SAMA… Read More

May 9, 2023 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on the draft “Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay later (BNPL) Companies.” In the interest of transparency and wider participation, SAMA reportedly “invites stakeholders and public to provide suggestions and observations on the draft Rules by visiting… Read More

February 26, 2023 @ 4:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of Mani, a finance debt collection company to provide debt collection service for finance institutions. The license was granted to the company after completing all requirements stipulated in the “Rules of Licensing Finance Support Activities” issued by… Read More

January 31, 2023 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of two finance companies that are “specialized in debt-based crowdfunding, namely: Forus and Tameed.” The licenses were “granted to the companies after successful testing of their solutions in SAMA’s Regulatory Sandbox; an experimental environment dedicated to innovative… Read More

January 8, 2023 @ 5:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the launch of the Open Banking Lab according to the Open Banking Framework issued by SAMA November 2022. The Open Banking Lab aims “to enable innovation and accelerate the development of open banking services in the Kingdom as it… Read More

December 19, 2022 @ 9:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) recently announced the licensing of Manafa – a finance company specialized in debt-based crowdfunding in the Kingdom. Manafa is “a closed joint-stock company with a capital of SAR 40 million.” The license was granted to the company “after a successful… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 11:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SAMA announced the issuance of the Open Banking Framework as one of the key outputs of the Open Banking Program, which “includes a comprehensive set of legislation, regulatory guidelines and technical standards based on international best practices to enable banks and fintechs to provide open… Read More