The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced the launch of Naqd, a government banking services platform that focuses on digitising the financial services of government agencies. Through this tool, SAMA aims to allow government agencies to access their accounts at the central bank and conduct financial transactions securely on a digital platform.

Aligning with the central bank’s strategy to offer banking services to government agencies and advancing digital development, the move focuses on optimising the financial operations services of organisations on their accounts at the Saudi Central Bank via a unified and safe platform. Moreover, the launch of Naqd intends to facilitate access to account information, allowing the management of these accounts, and offering instant monitoring of transactions to and from government agencies’ accounts. In addition, the platform focuses on providing electronic banking services that assist government financial transactions, deliver a customer-centric approach, improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging modern technologies, and minimise the time needed to complete banking procedures. Financial services digitalisation in Saudi Arabia Being amongst the most dynamic financial services markets in the MENA region, Saudi Arabia focuses on increasing innovation and introducing modern technologies to assist with its digitalisation objectives.

Aligning with the country’s Vision 2030, SAMA has been working on introducing several initiatives to accelerate the development of the fintech sector, with the central bank launching Fintech Saudi in April 2018 to solidify the region’s position as a fintech hub. In addition, Saudi Arabia established a regulatory sandbox to support international and local startups and firms to leverage a live and controlled environment to test their digital solutions. Besides promoting financial inclusion, the sandbox is intended to benefit consumers by delivering additional products. Furthermore, in September 2023, SAMA released a new regulatory framework for Open Banking, with the central bank aiming to expand the range of financial solutions available in the market and to strengthen the Kingdom’s commitments regarding Open Banking opportunities.

Fast forward to December 2023, SAMA announced the issuance of rules for regulating Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) companies, with the move reflecting continuous efforts to develop the financial sector as a whole and to advance the fintech sector. .