Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced on Monday 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.  The achievement is attributed to the significant...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's tourism sector contributed to a record-breaking $36 (SR135 billion) in spending by international visitors. The surge, reported by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), represents a substantial 42.8 percent increase from the previous year. The Kingdom's remarkable performance in tourism was further highlighted by its...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabian consumers spent a total of SR11.68 billion ($3.12 billion) through point-of-sale transactions during the initial week of Ramadan, spanning from March 10 to March 16. The data, disclosed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), outlines a total of 168 million transactions during this period....

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's international reserve assets decreased by SAR 26.98 billion, or 2 percent, to SAR 1.619 trillion ($431.65 billion) in February 2024, compared to the previous month. On a yearly basis, the Kingdom’s foreign reserve assets plunged 5 percent, or SAR 78.2 billion, Argaam reported, citing Saudi...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia topped the UN Tourism’s ranking for the growth of international tourist arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019 among large destinations, achieving an increase of 56%, according to the World Tourism Barometer report released last month. The kingdom recorded a remarkable tourism recovery rate of...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Central Bank Governor (SAMA) Ayman Al-Sayari discussed the recent developments in central banking and the outlook for the global economy in a meeting with President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde at SAMA’s headquarters in Riyadh on Thursday. Several events were organized...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia --Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia grew by 8 percent to SAR 111.5 billion ($29.73 billion) in November 2023 from nearly SAR 103.3 billion during the same month a year earlier, according to the Saudi Central Bank's (SAMA) monthly bulletin. Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS)...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has invited interested parties and specialists concerned with “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions” to send their feedback via the Public Consultation Platform at the National Competitiveness Center. The amended key principles aim to keep alignment with the latest regulatory...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has issued rules for regulating buy now pay later (BNPL) companies, as part of its role in supervising and controlling BNPL companies, according to a SAMA press release.The move reflects SAMA's continuous efforts to develop the financial sector as a whole...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased 4 percent to SAR 110 billion ($29.32 billion) in October, from nearly SAR 105.3 billion during the same month last year, according to the Saudi Central Bank's (SAMA) monthly bulletin.  Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions and...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has signed a three-year currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of China. The maximum value of the swap is 50 billion Chinese yuan ($7.02 billion). The agreement is part of the financial cooperation between the two central banks, which works...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Remittances by expatriates in Saudi Arabia dropped 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US$2.6 billion (SAR 9.9 billion) in September, according to recent data released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, expat remittances in the Kingdom declined 8 percent, or US$229 million...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Foreign investments in Saudi Arabia increased 4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 2.50 trillion ($666. 39 billion) by the end of Q2 2023, Argaam reported, citing Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) data. The foreign investment balance recorded an increase of 5 percent quarter-on-quarter, or nearly SAR 109.9...

The company was approved by the Saudi Central Bank.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) signed an agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday, in the fields of fintech and innovation. The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration between the two organizations. It seeks to facilitate their activities in international markets while respecting the...

The merger remains subject to regulatory approvals.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Assets held by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) declined by SAR 24 billion ($6.39 billion) month-on-month (MoM) to SAR 1.76 trillion in August. When compared to August 2022, SAMA’s assets fell by around SAR 229.2 billion, according to data released by SAMA, Argaam reported. SAMA’s investments...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC) hosted a coordination meeting with relevant Saudi permanent committees on Thursday to discuss enhancing systems of countering money laundering, finance of terrorism, and proliferation. The meeting was chaired by Ayman Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and AMLPC...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia achieved a surplus of SAR 22.8 billion ($6.07 billion) in the balance of payments for travel items in the first quarter of 2023, compared to a deficit of SAR 1.6 billion in Q1 2022, the Kingdom's Ministry of Tourism said. The ministry added that...

Dubai, UAE -- Remittances from expatriates in Saudi Arabia saw a slight decline year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 11.3 billion ($3.01 billion) in May, according to recent data released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, remittances from expats in Saudi Arabia increased 14 percent, or SAR...

The issue is part of the SAR 20 billion local sukuk program.

The majority of per capita insurance spending (60%) went towards health insurance, followed by general insurance (37%) and protection and savings insurance (3%).

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's insurance sector grew by 26.9 percent in 2022, bringing gross written premiums to SAR 53 billion ($14.13 billion), Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) said in a report. SAMA said in the 16th Saudi insurance market annual report that health, protection and savings, and motor insurance...

The Saudi Central Bank, known as Sama, the Central Bank of Bahrain and Qatar Central Bank upped their interest rates by 50 basis points.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia---The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has licensed 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 trial run in SAMA's Regulatory Sandbox, an...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Remittances from expatriates in Saudi Arabia saw a 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline to SAR 11.92 billion ($3.15bn) in August, according to recent data released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, remittances from expats in Saudi Arabia rose 3 percent %,...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi bank loans granted to public and private sectors grew 15 percent  by the end of August to SAR 2.359 trillion ($630 billion), compared to SAR 2.049 trillion ($550 billion) a year earlier, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Private-sector lending also increased by 15...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia---The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia has authorized four new financial technology companies to work under the umbrella of the legislative pilot environment in open banking. The new companies-- Wali Global Arabia for Information Technology, Sanam Saving Company for Information Technology, and Saber Arabia Company. Finance, and the...

Investment funds hold both local and foreign assets.

The study highlighted how the government sector in the kingdom has almost completely converted to electronic payment methods for all outward payments to individuals, business establishments or other government agencies.

Upon the services launch, Mada and NAPS cardholders will be able to carry out POS transactions in the two countries through the Gulf Payments Network

The startups presented their innovative solutions following months of hard work that contributed to developing their product strategies and business models.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has completed electronic linking procedures with the Saudi Center for Economic Business through the “Tanfeeth” program. This program aims to directly link the technical systems of government agencies and banks operating in the kingdom through the Saudi Central Bank in a way that contributes to...

Ongoing loan restructurings and the gradual withdrawal of pandemic-related support packages may put further pressure on asset quality. However, the Russian-Ukrainian war will have a minimal impact on the operating environment for banks in Saudi Arabia and UAE, they say.

The Saudi Central Bank, or SAMA, has launched licenses for consumer microfinance operations in the Kingdom. This follows the bank’s announcement of the third license for a consumer microfinance company in the Kingdom, Sulfah. Microfinance targets individuals and small businesses, including self-employed people, who may otherwise lack access to banking...

Four Gulf Arab central banks followed in the footsteps of the US Federal Reserve and raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point for the first time since 2018.

The bank said the policy rate adjustments are consistent with its objectives of maintaining monetary stability.

Named Moyasar Financial Company, the new entity is expected to provide ecommerce payment services.

The Saudi Central Bank has announced the opening of two branches of two Iraqi banks in Riyadh, and confirmed the signing of an agreement with Iraq to prevent double taxation.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that the number of Points of Sale (PoS) terminals inside the kingdom have exceeded the 1 million mark. These terminals can be found at commercial sales outlets in more than 180 cities and villages, SAMA said, attributing the achievement to a plan that was...

Bloomberg's Auction System is a part of Bloomberg's enterprise solution for central banks and government financial agencies.

The Saudi Central Bank "SAMA" has released a public consultation on rules for regulating the business of real estate refinance companies. The release comes in continuation of SAMA's efforts to develop the financial sector and to keep abreast with developments of the financing industry in general, Saudi media reports said....

Saudi Arabia had achieved contactless payment adoption of 94 percent, which is higher than even the EU.

The Deferred Payment Program was launched on March 14 last year, as Covid-19 was spreading across the world. According to the central bank, it benefited more than 107,000 contracts with a total value of SAR174 billion ($46.4 billion) in deferred payments.

The Saudi Central Bank or SAMA has launched two programs to augment Islamic banking through research and translation, local reports have said. They are the Islamic Finance Research Support Program and the Islamic Finance Research Translation Program.

Saudi Cabinet Okayed issuing licenses for country's first digital banks Digital banks concept broader than financial technology companies Digital banks licensed in Saudi Arabia will help improve the quality and user experience for customers in the Kingdom, supporting innovation and reducing costs, said Yazeed Alsheikh, director for general of banking...