POS weekly transactions rise to SAR 14.7B: SAMA

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Point-of-sale (POS) transactions in Saudi Arabia reached nearly SAR 14.7 billion in the week ended Aug. 3, up from nearly SAR 11.2 billion in the previous week.

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The number of POS transactions hit about 216.5 million last week, according to data issued by SAMA.

POS transactions represent consumer expenditures through debit and credit cards at major shopping centers, retail outlets, pharmacies, and others.

The data indicates that the value of sales via POS increases in the weeks that coincide with the disbursement of salaries to government employees (the 27th of each month), in addition to the weeks that coincide with school vacations and the weeks preceding Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. On the other hand, the value of sales decreases in the weeks that precede the disbursement of salaries and the weeks that coincide with the start of school after the holidays.

Adopting the four-week moving average, it is noted that the value of POS transactions increased during 2024 compared to 2023 and 2022, as the average value of sales ranged between SAR 11 billion and SAR 14 billion in 2024, while it was between SAR 10 billion and SAR 13 billion in 2023 and between SAR 9 billion and SAR 12 billion in 2022, as the following figure shows:

Consumer spending was focused on the food and beverage (F&B) sector, totaling SAR 2.23 billion, or 15.2% of the total spending during the week. The restaurants and cafes sector trailed with total POS transactions worth SAR 2.11 billion, or 14.3% of the total, as follows:

Riyadh led in terms of POS value by region during the week with approximately SAR 4.7 billion, representing 31.8% of the total. Jeddah came in second with SAR 2 billion, or 13.7% of the total, as follows:

According to the latest data from the Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA), e-payments in the retail sector (individuals) reached 70% of the total payment transactions carried out by individuals in the Kingdom for 2023, achieving the target percentage in the Financial Sector Development Program, one of the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, which aimed to reach an e-payment ratio of 70% by 2025.

Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has witnessed remarkable progress and rapid growth in adopting e-payment methods, as a result of the many strategic efforts and initiatives launched by the SAMA in cooperation with the financial sector to support the growth of the payments sector and stimulate the use of various e-payment options in the Kingdom.