SAMA says 89 fintechs in Saudi Arabia in 2022 with SAR 6.8 bln assets

Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) headquarters

The number of financial technology (fintech) companies in Saudi Arabia, operating under Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) supervision, reached 89 by 2022-end.

The central bank’s annual fintech report showed that total includes 30 licensed fintechs operating in finance, insurance, and payments; 15 in the Regulatory Sandbox; and 44 in operation.

Gross assets of the fintech companies stood at nearly SAR 6.8 billion by 2022-end, with approximately SAR 2.8 billion revenue.

Aligning with 2030 goals, the national fintech strategy targets 525 fintech companies, 18,000 job opportunities, SAR 13.3 billion direct gross domestic product (GDP) contribution, 20% foreign direct investments (FDIs) and SAR 12.2 billion cumulative venture capital (VC) investments. 

The total value of deposits in electronic money institutions (EMI) digital wallets reached nearly SAR 69.8 billion by 2022-end, of which SAR 57.6 billion were deposited by credit/debit cards and SAR 12.2 billion were deposited via bank transfers.

Additionally, total value of local transfers with EMI digital wallets amounted to SAR 15 billion, while the value of cash withdrawals from EMI digital wallets stood at SAR 8 billion.

Digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet or mobile wallet, is a virtual wallet that allows users to securely store and manage their digital assets such as money, payment cards, loyalty cards, and other digital credentials on their electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, or computers.

Total number of retail customers registered with EMI digital wallets hit 13.8 million by 2022-end, including 8.6 million active ones.

Total number of merchants registered with EMI digital wallets amounted to 176,000, with digital wallets mobile app downloads at 17 million.

The number of retail customers registered with BNPL totaled nearly 10 million customers, including 5.8 million active ones.