
The licencing of financial technology companies is aimed at opening financial services/Bloomberg
by Kudakwashe MuzoriwaThe Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has launched licences for non-bank financial institutions (financial technology institutions) for the first time in the Kingdom, licencing an electronic wallet company and a payment services company.
In a statement, SAMA said that the licencing of financial technology companies is aimed at opening financial services to non-banking actors and support the development of the national economy.
In 2019, SAMA published the draft regulations for public consultation to take into consideration public views to better serve the interest of the sector.
The guidelines enabled the licencing of payment companies, as well as regulate payment services in Saudi Arabia through a supervisory and oversight framework that ensures the safety and efficiency of transactions in the payments sector.
Additionally, SAMA said that the guidelines included the minimum requirements to undertake any of the payment services such as minimum capital requirements, data protection, governance and risk management requirements.
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