Electronic transactions in Saudi banks reached more than 36% in 2020, exceeding the target of 28%, Okaz newspaper reported, citing Secretary General and Spokesman of the Media and Banking Awareness Committee of Saudi Banks, Talat Hafiz.
Hafez expected e-transactions to reach 70%, which is the target for 2030.
E-transactions did not exceed 18% in 2016, he said, indicating that the Kingdom made a great effort in the financial sector to achieve the 2030 target, led by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA).
Hafiz pointed out that there is a diversification in the electronic payment methods from point-of-sale (PoS) devices, which amounted to 531,710 devices, according to June 2020 data.
Additionally, ATMs reached 18,800, while the number of issued cards was about 32 million.
Online transactions increased by more than 400% year-on-year (YoY) during Q1 2020. Similarly, PoS transactions crossed 67% YoY in the same period, while 79% of e-transactions were processed via near-field communication.
Saudi banks seek to keep pace with the development in e-transactions across the Kingdom and provide e-payment devices without fees. Fees are calculated only on a transaction basis, and they do not exceed SAR 0.008 on a transaction or a maximum of SAR 40 per transaction.
This has contributed to the proliferation of free e-payment devices, as well as expansion of PoS devices, Hafiz highlighted.
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