Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 and Qatar🇶🇦 agree on cross-border use of mada and HIMYAN cards

Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 and Qatar🇶🇦 agree on cross-border use of mada and HIMYAN cards

Summary of the main developments from the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh.

📌 The fintech sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 is growing:

🟢 Saudi Arabia currently has 371 fintech companies;
🟢 More than 85% of retail transactions are conducted through electronic payments;
🟢 More than 307 organizations operate under the open banking framework;
🟢 Investment in the sector is expected to exceed USD 8 billion by the end of the first half of 2026.

📌 An important milestone in the sector's development was the agreement between the central banks of Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 and Qatar🇶🇦 on the mutual acceptance of payment cards.

🟢 The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is the Kingdom's main monetary authority and financial regulator. It played a central role in developing the national mada payment system, launched in 1990.
🟢 The Central Bank of Qatar oversees the emirate's financial system and the national HIMYAN payment system.

The integration of the mada and HIMYAN systems could reduce the role of international card networks in regional retail payments.

📌 Saudi fintech barq announced the completion of a USD 329.5 million Series A funding round, valuing the company at USD 1.85 billion. This indicates that Saudi fintech companies are entering a phase of consolidation and expansion. barq is considered one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in the region.

📌 UAE-based payment services provider Network International announced the launch of merchant acquiring services in Saudi Arabia, including solutions for POS terminals and electronic payments across both physical and digital sales channels.

🟢 Network International was established in 1994 as a subsidiary of Emirates Bank and is now one of the largest digital payment providers in the Middle East.

✏️ Context: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a population of 35.3 million people and a GDP of USD 1.39 trillion.

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