Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) is participating in the National Festival of Heritage and Culture (Janadriyah 33) through an independent pavilion that shows the history of currency notes and coins traded in the Arabian Peninsula throughout the ages, including the current Saudi currency.
Since opening its doors to the Public on 14/04/1440H, SAMA pavilion has received a large number of different visitors. Through its pavilion, SAMA has shared information about the historical series of the old and Islamic currencies that were traded in the cities of Arabian Peninsula, as well as the technological and technical developments that the currencies witnessed during that period. The pavilion has also displayed the Saudi currency notes and coins that reflect the currency development in the Saudi era, starting from the use of silver riyals and gold coins till the issuance of Saudi banknotes and coins. The development of currency in the Saudi era covers the denominations issued from the reign of the Founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, up to the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
Through its participation in the festival, SAMA seeks to educate visitors and introduce all its currency issuances. It also endeavors to disseminate knowledge of security features of genuine banknotes and explain how to distinguish them from counterfeit ones. SAMA pavilion has distributed leaflets and special publications that explain how to check banknotes, highlighting the security features that need to be verified. It has also presented publications on currency development, SAMA statistical publications and annual reports. It has also distributed to visitors copies of a book on Money in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to other gifts.
Additionally, the pavilion includes a self-service section dedicated to replacing large denominations of banknotes with smaller ones and with coins as an initiative to provide an automated exchange service for visitors. Moreover, SAMA has allocated a special section for children visiting the festival and, especially, its pavilion. In this section, children can have some fun activities, like drawing and coloring some pictures provided in books. These coloring books carry educational messages on savings, coins and banknotes and how to use them, along with a simple explanation of the new coins. The section has received a large number of children wishing to engage in the drawing and coloring activity.
In line with SAMA's initiative "SAMA Cares", the Consumer Protection Department has been present at Janadriyah festival with a view to raising awareness of clients of financial institutions and educating them on their rights and responsibilities. Through its participation, the department also endeavors to introduce to consumers the communication channels provided by SAMA for the submission and handling of complaints and inquiries. Further, the department seeks to inform consumers visiting the festival of their financial rights that enable them to make informed financial decisions suiting their financial needs and obligations. Besides, an awareness contest has been launched through SAMA Cares account on Twitter. The contest will last up to the end of the festival, and the winners will receive valuable minted medals from SAMA.
As part of SAMA's efforts to promote the culture of e-payments in the society, SAMA pavilion at the festival includes a special section for payment systems, which are supervised by SAMA. The section shows the historical development of payment systems in Saudi Arabia. It also presents the latest models of POS terminals approved by the national payment system "mada' and offered by the service providers to stores. Those include mobile POS devices, self-checkout POS terminals, wearable payment bracelets and smart stickers. In addition to that, the section highlights added-value services offered by "mada", such as "naqd" service, "atheer" service for small payments, and "mada Pay" which uses NFC technology. Furthermore, SAMA pavilion focuses on introducing services of SADAD Payment System and how the system issues bills and receives payments. It also sheds light on the latest SADAD service "SADAD Account" that is designed to push local e-commerce forward and facilitate the mechanism of payment for merchants and customers alike.
