Nearly 5 years after the launch of Apple Pay in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced today it has officially signed an agreement with Samsung to launch Samsung Pay in the country later this year. The announcement comes on the first day of the 24 Fintech conference taking place in Riyadh, with a focus on innovative digital payment solutions.
Similar to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay will allow Samsung users to add their Saudi bank-issued debit and credit cards to the Samsung Wallet app to pay using their Galaxy phones and smartwatches. Samsung Pay will work with all payment terminals that support mada, which is the vast majority of payment terminals in the Kingdom.
In a press statement, SAMA said the new agreement is part of it’s commitment to “developing a robust digital payments infrastructure through the national payments system “mada,” thereby transforming towards a less cash-dependent society by providing advanced digital payment solutions that align with international standards.”
Specific details of when users can expect Samsung Pay support to launch and with which banks initially, is still unclear. SAMA says Samsung Pay will launch during the final quarter of 2024, without providing a more specific timeframe.
Samsung Pay History
Samsung Pay launched initially in 2019 in South Korea, and over the years has grown to other countries around the world. Unlike Apple which restricts apps from using the iPhone’s NFC, Samsung does allow other apps to use the built-in NFC technology. With access to the NFC tag on Galaxy phones and smartphones, even in countries without Samsung Pay support, third-party apps have offered contactless payment options for several years.
In Saudi Arabia for example, the official mada Pay app has allowed users to pay at payment terminals using just their Galaxy phones. The expansion of Samsung Pay into Saudi Arabia, however, will mean the experience is more secure and is built directly into the Galaxy experience, without needing to use a third-party app.
Samsung Pay will join Apple Pay, mada Pay, STC Pay, Mobily Pay, and countless other fintech and digital payment solutions offered in the Saudi economy.
