Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia surges 9% to SAR 123.1B in February

An ATM machine

POS transactions saw an 8% year-on-year (YoY) rise to around SAR 57.9 billion in February.

Data showed that 888 million transactions were processed through more than two million POS terminals during the same period.

POS transactions represent the expenditures made by consumers using their ATM cards and credit cards at shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, and other retail outlets.

Cash withdrawals from ATMs declined by almost 3% YoY to about SAR 44.3 billion in February.

These withdrawals were processed through 15,000 ATMs in 116.2 million transactions, while the number of credit cards issued reached 51.9 million.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 48% YoY to SAR 20.9 billion in February.

According to monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), these sales were made through 111.9 million transactions.

Online sales include transactions processed through Mada cards for payments and purchases made via online shopping and applications. However, these do not include transactions conducted using Visa, Mastercard, or other credit cards.