Fast Development of Saudi Arabia's Fintech Industry

The launch of Apple Pay, Saudi Payments and the continued issuance of regulatory testing licenses and regulations by SAMA and CMA to support fintech activities are some of key developments in fintech over the last year in Saudi Arabia, a report said. The Fintech Saudi Annual Report 2019/20, which provides an overview of the development of the fintech industry in Saudi Arabia over the past year, highlights a number of key developments that have taken place to support the growth of the fintech industry.

Director of Fintech Saudi, Nejoud Almulaik said 2019/20 had been a pivotal period for the fintech industry in the Kingdom. “Despite the challenges of Covid-19 we have seen progression in regulations, infrastructure and an increasing number of investment rounds in fintech companies, which have built a solid foundation to support the emergence of a growing fintech industry in Saudi Arabia, that will contribute in a meaningful way to Vision 2030,” he added.

Within the community there have also been a number of major initiatives including the NCB / Monsha’at fintech accelerator program and the launch of Riyad Bank’s fintech fund. Fintech Saudi has also continued to support the development of the fintech industry through initiatives including the Fintech Ecosystem Directory and the Fintech Jobs Portal to support fintech companies, the Fintech Regulatory Assessment Tool to provide greater regulation clarity and the Fintech Data & Research Initiative to support data driven innovation in fintech.

The collective impact of these developments is contributing to the growth of an emerging fintech industry. The number of operating fintechs has increased 3-fold in a year, from 20 in 2019 to 60 this year, with over 100 fintech startups at the idea or pre-commercial stage. There has also been an increase in fundraising deals completed in Saudi fintechs for the year to date with the total investment amount already surpassing 2019 levels. This is building up to a fintech market in Saudi Arabia that, according to Statista, is expected to reach transaction values of over US$33 billion by 2023.

The Fintech Saudi Annual Report consists of a number of sections including an overview of the fintech industry by KPMG, the view from fintechs from MAGNiTT and interviews with the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox and the CMA FinTech Lab. Fintech Saudi is an initiative launched by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) in partnership with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to support the development of the Fintech Industry in Saudi Arabia. Fintech Saudi’s ambition is to transform Saudi Arabia into an innovative fintech hub with a thriving and responsible fintech ecosystem.