Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 is implementing Alipay+ and plans to introduce Tap To Pay

Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 is implementing Alipay+ and plans to introduce Tap To Pay

The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA) announced the long-awaited developments at the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh.

➡️ Exactly one year ago, SAMA signed an agreement with Ant International to implement Alipay+ within the national mada payment system. Merchants across Saudi Arabia can now accept cross-border payments via QR codes from e-wallets connected to the Alipay+ network.

➡️ Context: Alipay+ has more than 1.7 billion accounts across several dozen markets worldwide. Recently, the network was integrated into the global portfolio of Mastercard Wallet Pay solutions.

➡️ The regulator also announced plans to introduce Apple's Tap to Pay feature. This tool allows merchants to accept contactless payments by card and digital wallet directly on an iPhone.

➡️ In addition, SAMA issued Visa a certificate of compliance with the new electronic payments interface. This will allow Visa to process e-commerce transactions in Saudi Arabia.

🖋 More context: Saudi Arabia aims to become a regional fintech leader. Investment in the sector is expected to exceed USD 8 billion by the end of the first half of 2026. Earlier, at the Money20/20 Middle East conference, an agreement was announced between Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 and Qatar🇶🇦 to enable the cross-border use of the national mada and HIMYAN cards.

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