The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) announced the licensing of two payments companies, namely: the Financial Technology Company (Alinma Payments) to provide electronic wallet service (electronic transfer and payment service), and (Sure Payments Company) to provide payment services (payment gateway service through point of sale devices) Fixed and mobile. This brings the total number of payment companies licensed by SAMA in the financial technology sector to eight companies, in addition to two companies obtaining initial approval.

                This step comes in complementing of efforts by SAMA within the framework of enhancing the payments activity and pushing towards improving the services provided in the financial sector. The decision came based on the competence of SAMA to license, control, and supervise the payments sector in the Kingdom, and in accordance with the powers granted to it by Cabinet Resolution No. 226 dated 5/2/1440 AH, where the regulations for payment service providers were issued on 6/5/1441 AH corresponding to 1/30 2020 AD, which aims to provide a regulatory framework that supports innovation in the payments and financial technologies sector.

                SAMA confirmed its continuous endeavor to support the payments sector system and financial technologies, raise the level of effectiveness and flexibility of financial transactions, in addition to enhancing innovation in the financial services provided, in accordance with best practices and to ensure the stability of the financial sector, in line with the aspirations of the financial sector development program, one of the programs of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and to achieve the objectives The strategic vision, the most important of which is the orientation towards a cashless society. As the number of customers registered in e-wallet applications has reached more than four million, Capital investment by companies licensed to provide payment services has exceeded more than half a billion riyals since the beginning of the issuance of the regulations in 2020. According to the data for the second quarter of the year 2020 AD; The total number of POS operations increased to 502 million, with a growth of 38.5% compared to the second quarter of 2019, and the value of operations increased to reach 76.6 billion riyals.