SAMA awards licenses to 14 new fintech firms to join Sandbox

Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has granted 14 financial technology (fintech) firms permits to join the Sandbox experimental environment for offering fintech services.

This brings the total number of companies that have joined the Sandbox so far to 21, the Kingdom’s central bank said in a statement today.

The step aims at promoting economic growth and boosting investment activities by moving into a cashless society and by promoting the principal of financial inclusion.

Aiming at studying and evaluating the impact of fintech services in the Kingdom, SAMA has launched the Sandbox experimental environment in February 2019, which opens the door for financial companies and start-ups to test advanced digital solutions including e-wallets, digital payments, P2P transfers, QR codes purchases, international transfers, point of sale (POS) devices, SADAD bills, SADAD account and mada online.

One of the essential aftermaths of the Sandbox is eliminating the hassle of physically being present at the bank to open an account; customers are now allowed to open accounts and undertake financial operations via their smart devices.