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ReportSaudi Islamic bank secures license for payment company

Saudi Islamic bank secures license for payment company

Alinma Bank, one of the four fully-fledged Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia, has obtained a regulatory license for its payment company, AlinmaPay, to provide e-wallet and digital payment services, growing the number Islamic fintech companies in the Kingdom to 10, according to latest data from the IFN Islamic Fintech Landscape.

Alongside AlinmaPay, another company SurePay also received a license to provide payment services, bringing the number of licensed fintech payment companies in Saudi to eight since Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) introduced related regulations in January 2020. These companies have over SAR500 million (US$133.24 million) in capital. IFN understands that another two payment companies are awaiting regulatory approval. The approvals are part of SAMA’s efforts to boost digital payments in the Kingdom in line with the government’s Saudi Vision 2030 for a cashless society. Official data puts the number of registered e-wallet users to over four million, almost 12% of the Kingdom’s approximately 33 million-strong population. The number of point-of-sale transactions rose by 38.5% year-on-year to 502 million in the second quarter valuing at SAR76.6 billion (US$20.41 billion).

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