Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB) has partnered with Mastercard to provide increased access to secure digital transactions across the region. Through this collaboration, SAB leverages Mastercard’s Gateway’s advanced Transaction Risk Management technology (TRM) to offer safe and simplified digital transactions, customer protection from cybercrime, and payment fraud prevention.

The Mastercard Gateway AI-powered technology intends to reduce financial risk by proactively assessing transactions for vulnerabilities. The partnership’s objective According to officials, SAB aims to evolve its digital proposition and the partnership with Mastercard supports the bank’s efforts in the cybersecurity space. With its solutions, Mastercard is positioned to support SAB in expanding its capabilities to reduce financial risks and increase customers’ security.

Moreover, the collaboration supports SAB’s commitment to providing a reliable and safe digital financial environment for all its customers, as the bank aims to equip them with tools and solutions that instil assurance in conducting online banking transactions. Furthermore, representatives from Mastercard stated that as cyber threats continue to grow globally, the company’s cybersecurity solutions aim to eliminate attacks that greatly affect businesses worldwide. Mastercard highlighted that the collaboration with SAB aligns with its commitment to driving the digitisation of the payment ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and with the objectives of the region’s national cybersecurity strategy. In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its objective of developing a thriving digital economy and a 70% cashless society by 2030, the region ranks among the first in cybersecurity readiness in the Middle East and North Africa, as per the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). SAB’s previous developments and partnerships The collaboration with Mastercard is not the first one of SAB as, in September 2023, the bank collaborated with Wise to provide fast, secure, and cost-effective solutions for sending and receiving money internationally.

Through this partnership, SAB intended to fall in line with the financial sector development programme Saudi Vision 2030 while also increasing investment and backing its strategy that focused on offering advanced banking solutions. At that time, Wise officials stated that the company aimed to make international payments fast and easy, allowing SAB’s customers to receive innovative technology through the bank’s digital channels. Moreover, at the end of May 2023, SAB partnered with fintech Ottu to integrate an online payment management solution within its payment gateway. The collaboration intended to streamline the technical integration framework to enable online payment acceptance through a simplified experience.

Mastercard’s input in digital security At the end of October 2023, Mastercard announced its First-Party Trust programme to protect small businesses and merchants. The programme was a collaborative effort with industry groups, including the US Merchant Advisory Group and Merchant Risk Council, intended to address the increasing challenges of first-party or friendly fraud. Mastercard’s service specifically benefits small businesses, merchants, and entrepreneurs, as it reduces the time-consuming and resource-intensive task of researching and addressing claims. During the same period, Mastercard launched a new suite of enhanced solutions using AI to support the payment ecosystem.

With this introduction, the company intended to help financial institutions maintain the efficiency of payments. .