Saudi cbank promotes e-payment services through Mada

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Kingdom’s central bank, is currently promoting e-payment services through Mada cards and mobile payments, Ziad Al-Yousef, the general manager of payment systems at SAMA, told Argaam.

The development of Mada systems come as part of the central bank’s efforts to keep pace with global changes in e-payments and meet local needs for online shopping and mobile payments.

The central bank also aims to expand the use of unattended point-of-sale (POS) and mobile POS in target sectors, including private taxis, mobile food vans, petrol stations, etc.

POS transactions in Saudi Arabia rose 13 percent to SAR 15.3 billion in July from SAR 13.6 billion a year earlier, with the number of transactions increasing by 36 percent year-on-year.

This rise was mainly attributed to efforts to spread Mada payment services in new sectors, such as fast-food restaurants, cafes and foreign exchange bureaus.

Points-of-sales at shopping malls exceeded 301,000, and they are expected to cross 520,000 by 2021, Al-Yousef said, adding that Mada cardholders have reached 29 million across the Kingdom.

MADA was officially launched in September 2015 to facilitate financial transactions between banks, merchants, and customers through ATMs and POS terminals, Argaam earlier reported.