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The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), in cooperation with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), hosted the Innovation Summit for the Middle East and Africa region on 19-20 November 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Summit explored emerging opportunities and challenges posed by technological innovation in the financial sector, and considered the role of central banks in facilitating technological advancement while safeguarding financial stability.

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The two-day Summit featured the participation of Mr. Ayman M. Al-Sayari, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), and Mr. Pablo Hernández de Cos, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), along with several central bank governors and experts from the region and beyond, to discuss key topics. These include the current state of the international efforts for developing the payments systems, and evaluating the progress made so far for implementing the G20 Roadmap of cross-border Payments, which was developed to enhance the payment systems along with the associated challenges, and the other efforts to modernize cross-border payments infrastructure for high-speed, low-cost, more secure, and transparent. This also includes the multilateral cooperation at the international level. The Summit also covered the implications of emerging technologies, their regulatory framework to mitigate the risks, and the balance between innovation and financial stability.