RIYADH — The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced that the share of electronic payments in the retail sector reached 62% of total payments, including cash, in 2022, exceeding the 60% target set by the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), one of the main programs of Saudi Vision 2030.

This achievement reflects the continuous and accelerated development of local payments over the past few years. The progress in e-payments would not have been possible without the significant improvement in payment infrastructure, the enhancement of existing systems, and the introduction of new systems and services.

This is in addition to progress in the regulatory, technical, and operational aspects of the sector has contributed to the recent transformation towards electronic payments.

Statistically, the number of PoS transactions executed via the Saudi Payment Network "mada" reached an unprecedented 7.2 billion transactions during 2022, an increase of 40% compared to 2021.

Mada card online transactions also grew by 76% in 2022, recording 610 million transactions. As of the end of 2022, there were 1.4 million PoS terminals, representing a 42% increase compared to 2021.

It should be noted that SAMA is committed to accelerating digital transformation towards electronic payments, supporting payment infrastructure, and encouraging its adoption.

SAMA's strategic plans for the payment sector have made this achievement possible by significantly reducing reliance on cash.

SAMA's goal is to increase the electronic payment share to 70% by 2025 and to create synergies between government and private sectors, paving the way for a new era of digitalization for payment systems. — SPA