Remarkable Success of Mobile and Contactless Payments Through Near Field Communication “NFC” Technology Boosting the Aim of a Less Dependent on Cash Society Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
As Saudi Arabia’s national payments infrastructure operator, Saudi Payments has the task of driving the Kingdom’s digital transformation towards a less dependent on cash society. Its aim, under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 roadmap, is to ensure 70% of all transactions in the country are digital by 2030, and its secret weapon towards achieving this, is through digital and mobile payments (utilizing Near Field Communication “NFC” technology within physical cards and mobile devices).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201110005684/en/
NFC and Mobile Payments in Saudi Arabia (Photo: AETOSWire)
Introduced only four years ago, mobile and NFC payments have rapidly become the payment of choice for a largely young, youth and tech savvy Saudi and non-Saudi citizens within the society. The rate of growth has been phenomenal, increasing from 97 million transactions in September 2019, to over 266 million contactless transactions with a value of SAR 27.5 billion. That represents 174% increase comparing to same period in 2019.
The Saudi population is young, in a nation of 35 million people, two thirds are under the age of 35. The Kingdom is also one of the highest users of mobile phones in the world, with over 28 million registered smartphones. The Millennials and Gen Z have grown up in a digital age where they expect to have technology to their fingertips to make payments. “Cash is fast” terminology is becoming a phase of the past.
There are currently over 22 million NFC mada cards in circulation in the Kingdom. In the third quarter of 2020, mobile payments represented 24% of all POS payments, an increase of 567% compared with 2019.
Saudi Payments Managing Director Fahad Al-Akeel said: “The growth in digital and mobile payments has outstripped expectation, Saudi Payments strategy is to enrich the Kingdom’s digital and mobile payment environment and make it more competitive. Our aim is to support the National Digital Transformation under Vision 2030 by enabling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to become essentially a less dependent on cash society during the next ten years, if not even achieved beforehand.
However, the speed with which the technology has been adopted has surpassed all expectation. In September 2020 91% of transactions were contactless, compared with 66% in 2019. There are also now over 614K POS terminals across the country, 96% of which are NFC enabled.”
Fahad Al-Akeel acknowledges and emphasizes that COVID-19 has had a positive impact on speeding up the transition, “The huge growth this year in digital and mobile payments could be attributed to COVID-19 and cardholders increasingly turning to online shopping and preferring to use cards and mobile at point of sales “POS” instead of cash. The result has meant we have exceeded all forecasts, with 25% mobile Payments Volume share vs overall POS Volume as of September 2020, compared to 8% in September 2019, an overall increase of 495%.
Saudi Payments developed its universal mobile payments infrastructure in 2018, in connection with all card issuers in the Kingdom, which rapidly lead to the introduction of NFC based payment solutions such as mada Pay and Apple Pay. The overwhelming success of the infrastructure means further OEM and international Pays are anticipated to come on line in the near future.
More recent developments have included an NFC limit/CDCVM/CVM/ PIN free which is applicable on physical NFC mada cards. The single transaction limit on physical cards and mada pay was increased in March 2020 from SAR 100 to SAR 300, in order to minimize the chance of COVID-19 infection and increase the share of contactless payments by simply tapping the card or mobile device without the need of a PIN entry at the POS terminal.
These multiple steps have collectively made NFC a cultural phenomenon which could easily see the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 goal of creating a cashless society well before 2030.
Saudi Payments is a fully owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA)
About Saudi Payments
Saudi Payments was established in 1991 to operate and develop all major national payment systems.
Since its establishment, it has played a vital role in enabling the public and private sectors to connect with domestic and international payment services, helping to develop the Kingdom’s payment infrastructure.
Saudi Payments provides fast, flexible, and safe electronic payment services at low cost, through mada, SADAD and Esal systems, enhancing the national electronic payment infrastructure and reducing cash transactions.
Saudi Payments supports the government’s Financial Sector Development Program, a part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 Program. Saudi Payments operates to international standards, connecting local and international service providers with payment networks, reducing the need for cash payments.
*Source: AETOSWire
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201110005684/en/
Contact information
Showmer Alshowmer
External Communication Manager
SAUDI PAYMENTS
E
Saalshowmer@saudipayments.com
T +966-11-8292000-2045
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Luxembourg to Start Real Life Testing of an International Standard for a Digital Circularity Fingerprint for Products27.11.2020 14:00:00 EET | Press release
The Ministry of the Economy of Luxembourg just launched phase two of the development of an international standard. It provides information on the circularity of products to all stakeholders involved along their value chains. A first viable version of the standard is being tested in real life, allowing to identify the most suitable governance model, the audit scheme and reliable IT systems for its management. Luxembourg started the Circularity Dataset Initiative in 2018 to address the difficulty for industry and consumers to access reliable data on the circular properties of a product. A lot of circularity information is missing, as its generation and handling requires too many human and financial resources. Furthermore, trade secrets are hindering transparency and reporting standards are lacking, forcing manufacturers to send out different data sets in diverse formats to customers and product platforms. To tackle these challenges, the Luxembourg government is working with multinational
Chengdu Continues to Enhance Trade Links and Cultural Exchanges to Expand Circle of Friends Around the World27.11.2020 12:24:00 EET | Press release
The Chengdu-Europe railway line spans over 10,000 kilometers across countless rivers and mountains, transporting goods to vast numbers of people across the Eurasian landmass. With increased trade, cultural links between Chengdu and Europe are also growing stronger. Against this backdrop, Chengdu-Eurasia National Pavilion Cluster (CENPC) has emerged in the Qingbaijiang District of Chengdu to further promote trade and cultural exchanges. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201127005270/en/ Head of CENPC’s pavilion for France and the Netherlands Xu Dandan at work (Photo: Business Wire) CENPC is an important platform for trade exhibition and cultural exchange between countries along the Belt and Road. With trade promotion as a foundation, the project, which is expected to feature over 40 national pavilions, aims to deepen Sichuan’s global cooperation in fields such as culture, talent, education, and science and techno
Chengdu-Europe Railway Adds Momentum to Chengdu's Rise as an International Hub, Leading to Closer Cooperation Between Chengdu and Tilburg27.11.2020 12:14:00 EET | Press release
Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province and Tilburg in The Netherlands, the two cities at the opposite ends of the Eurasian landmass, are now closely connected via an intercontinental railway that spans nearly 11,000 kilometers. In a recent interview with Xinhuanet, Roland Verbraak, general manager of GVT Group of Logistics - the Dutch partner of the Chengdu-Europe Railway, praised: "Not only are our relationships with Chinese partners getting closer, but the two cities of Chengdu and Tilburg have also become sister cities. Chengdu's international development is progressing well at a rapid pace." This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201127005267/en/ Roland Verbraak, general manager of GVT Group of Logistics (Photo: Business Wire) Goods shuttling along the Chengdu-Europe Railway line have not only spurred economic growth in China and The Netherlands but also deepened links between Chengdu and places along the route, add
REPLY: Reply enters into eSports27.11.2020 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Reply, on the eve of Milan Games Week, announces its entry into eSports in collaboration with Totem eSports, a project born in 2019 that spent the year battling its way through the most competitive titles of the main ESL circuits, which for the 2021 season will be renamed Reply Totem eSports. The Reply Totem eSports team, thanks to the experience gained by its young talents at national and international level, will compete in the next season in the ESL EVC circuits on the mobile titles including Clash Royale, Brawl Stars and on a series of other titles, ranging from sports such as FIFA to FPS and strategic cards. Reply's entry into eSports is part of a wider range of initiatives aimed at supporting young technology enthusiasts. With this collaboration, Reply, which already operates in the gaming sector with Game Studio and B2B initiatives, enters a market in continuous growth, that symbolizes the impact of digitalization in all sectors. Filippo Rizzante, Reply's CTO, commented: "The eS
Vertex Announces European Commission Approval for SYMKEVI® (tezacaftor/ivacaftor) With KALYDECO® (ivacaftor) for Eligible Children With Cystic Fibrosis Ages 6-11 Years27.11.2020 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that the European Commission has granted approval of the label extension for SYMKEVI® (tezacaftor/ivacaftor) with KALYDECO® (ivacaftor), to include the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients ages 6 years and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene or one copy of the F508del mutation and one copy of one of 14 mutations in the CFTR gene that result in residual CFTR activity: P67L, R117C, L206W, R352Q, A455E, D579G, 711+3A→G, S945L, S977F, R1070W, D1152H, 2789+5G→A, 3272-26A→G, and 3849+10kbC→T. “With this approval, children with CF in Europe ages 6 to 11 years with the most common mutation, F508del, have a new treatment option and children with certain residual function mutations will, for the first time, have a treatment option available that addresses the underlying cause of their CF,” said Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., Chief Executive O
Thales to Deliver the World’s First Fully Integrated Unmanned Mine Countermeasures System for the Royal Navy and French “Marine Nationale”26.11.2020 22:55:00 EET | Press release
Following the first phase of the program in which two demonstrators have successfully proven their operational performances at sea, France and the United Kingdom marked the tenth anniversary of the Lancaster House treaties by signing a joint contract for Thales to start the production phase of MMCM to deliver eight unmanned mine hunting systems (four for France and four for the United Kingdom). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201126005783/en/ MMCM system at sea ©Thales With the threat of mines and improvised explosive devices present in all conflicts involving naval forces, countries need to strengthen the protection of their maritime domain, to ensure the protection of their assets and to safeguard the freedom of civil navigation. At the same time, it is essential to limit human exposure to mines. With 50 years of expertise serving navies around the world, Thales develops technologies that enable the transiti
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom