The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has announced the success of the two experiments; opening bank accounts for individuals and Know Your Customer's data update both performed online. This achieved within the newly introduced framework of the Sandbox regulatory, along with the participation of 12 banks operating in the Kingdom's local market. SAMA clarified that by completing this step and after 666 thousands successful experimental transactions by these banks, it has become officially available to them providing opening bank accounts for individuals and updating Customer's data online, as it mentioned in the fifth update of the governing rules for the opening of bank accounts for banks operating in the Kingdom, issued by SAMA recently.

      It is worth mentioning that SAMA had invented experimental regulatory framework (sandbox) for the purpose of understanding and assessment of new technologies within the financial market in the Kingdom and to help transform the Kingdom into intelligent technological financial center in a way that allows local and international companies wishing to test new digital solutions to enter a virtual environment with a view to launching it in the Kingdom in the future. This step comes to achieve a number of strategic objectives of linking the private experimental environment of SAMA directly with Kingdom's Vision 2030, which seeks to promote all of economic growth, investment activities, moving into a non-cash society and principle of financial inclusion. SAMA's sandbox aimed at attracting financial institutions and local and international companies specialized in financial technology companies that are looking to leverage current or new technologies to offer innovative financial products and services to the Saudi Market. The initiative is expected to enhance the innovation in financial services and digital payment services and will help financial institutions and financial technology companies to test their innovative products with reduced controls, which will have a positive impact on the financial sector in improving and facilitating financial transactions and reducing costs.