What Saudi Central Bank does

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), founded in 1952 and headquartered in Riyadh, is the central monetary authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a government state entity under the Saudi Arabian government. Its mandate encompasses maintaining monetary stability and price stability, ensuring the soundness of the Saudi financial system, issuing the national currency, supervising all commercial and investment banks operating in the Kingdom, and overseeing payment systems infrastructure. SAMA serves as a core pillar of Saudi Vision 2030's financial sector transformation agenda, providing regulatory oversight across commercial banks, fintech companies (261 active), 32 licensed payment service providers, 68 licensed financing companies, cash centres, exchange houses, and government entities.

SAMA's core technology infrastructure includes four notable platforms. The mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform, co-developed with the People's Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank of Thailand, Central Bank of the UAE, and BIS, has processed approximately RMB 470 billion ($69 billion) in transactions and represents one of only a few operational multi-country wCBDC platforms globally, reducing dependence on Swift for cross-border settlements. The Electronic Check Clearing System (ECCS), launched in December 2025, digitizes and automates check processing to complete clearing within one business day. The Open Banking Framework, launched in 2022 and transitioned to a fully licensed regime in March 2026, enables fintech companies to provide open banking services under enforceable accountability. The National Payment Gateway (NPG) certification ensures compliance with national payment regulations and technical standards across Saudi Arabia's digital payments ecosystem. Payment infrastructure density exceeds 50 POS terminals per 1,000 people, outpacing the UK, US, and China.

As a regulatory and monetary authority rather than a commercial enterprise, SAMA does not operate on commercial pricing models. Its services including currency issuance, payment systems, banking supervision, and monetary policy are public goods provided to the financial system. The bank has no private ownership structure and reports to the Saudi government. Key institutional metrics include Saudi Arabia surpassing its Vision 2030 non-cash transactions target at 79% of retail transactions in 2024 (two years ahead of schedule), ranking #1 globally in the ITU Digital Readiness Framework 2025 at 93 points, and earning a B+ rating in Global Finance's 2025 Central Banker Report Card. The Governor is Ayman Al-Sayari, who represents SAMA at international forums including FATF ministerial meetings and IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings.

Name

Saudi Central Bank

Legal name

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)

Website

https://sama.gov.sa

Company type

Public

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is Saudi Arabia's central monetary authority, founded 1952 and headquartered in Riyadh. It maintains monetary and financial stability, issues currency, supervises banks, operates payment infrastructure including the mBridge cross-border CBDC platform, and licenses fintech companies under Vision 2030.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riyadh

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is Saudi Arabia's central monetary authority responsible for maintaining monetary stability, supervising commercial banks, issuing national currency, conducting monetary policy, and overseeing payment systems. It provides foundational financial infrastructure including the Open Banking Framework, Electronic Check Clearing System (ECCS), National Payment Gateway certification, and participation in the mBridge cross-border CBDC platform.

Product overview

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is Saudi Arabia's central bank and regulatory authority. As a regulatory body rather than a product company, SAMA does not offer commercial products in the traditional sense. Its services encompass central banking functions including monetary policy, currency management, banking supervision, payment systems oversight, and fintech licensing. SAMA provides electronic services for individuals, businesses, and government entities, including exchange rate information, economic indicators, statistical publications, and regulatory guidance. The organization operates infrastructure including the Open Banking Framework, Electronic Check Clearing System (ECCS), and National Payment Gateway, and participates in cross-border CBDC initiatives such as the mBridge platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bank of ThailandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Co-initiator of the mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform alongside Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The platform enables faster, lower-cost cross-border payments and reduces dependence on Swift. Saudi Central Bank joined as a partner along with People's Bank of China and Central Bank of the UAE, with BIS as initial coordinator.
• Hong Kong Monetary AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Co-initiator of the mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform alongside Bank of Thailand. The platform enables faster, lower-cost cross-border payments and reduces dependence on Swift. Saudi Central Bank joined as a partner along with People's Bank of China and Central Bank of the UAE, with BIS as initial coordinator.
• People's Bank of ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Partner in the mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform. The platform has grown transaction volume to approximately RMB 470 billion ($69 billion) and continues expanding with two additional regions recently joining.
• Central Bank of the UAEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Partner in the mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform. The platform enables faster, lower-cost cross-border payments while reducing dependence on Swift.
• Bank for International Settlements (BIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Initial coordinator of the mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform. BIS has supported the platform's progression from MVP to commercialization readiness.
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2026Saudi Arabia joined FATF in 2019 and endorsed the body's 2026-2028 strategic priorities for mutual evaluations. SAMA Governor Ayman Al-Sayari expressed support for stronger global cooperation to combat illicit finance at the FATF ministerial meeting alongside IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
• IMF and World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2026SAMA Governor participated in FATF ministerial meeting held alongside IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, discussing global cooperation on illicit finance prevention.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Co-initiator of mBridge alongside SAMA; operates multiple-licensed banking regime with strong fintech supervisory depth and cross-border RMB/HKD infrastructure — a direct functional counterpart in both CBDC development and open banking/AI supervision.
• People's Bank of China: Largest mBridge partner by transaction volume; comparable central-bank mandate in monetary policy, currency issuance, and payment-system stewardship, with the leading retail CBDC (e-CNY) program.
• Bank of Thailand: Original co-initiator of Project mBridge with SAMA; operates monetary policy, real-time payment systems (PromptPay), and a retail CBDC pilot (Project Sand) at similar emerging-market scale and digital ambition.
• Qatar Central Bank: GCC regional peer with near-identical mandate over a hydrocarbon-driven economy, riyal peg, and active fintech/sandbox regulation — including its own open banking and payment-system modernization programs.
• Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates: Co-founding mBridge partner with SAMA; GCC peer operating a dirham peg, digital payments transformation (Aani, instant payments platform), and similar banking supervision mandate over a comparable oil-export economy.

Broad incumbents

• Federal Reserve System: Largest incumbent central bank by mandate scope; sets the dominant monetary policy regime that the SAR/USD peg tracks, and operates the FedNow instant payment system — a global benchmark for payment-system modernization.
• European Central Bank: Major incumbent multi-jurisdiction central bank running the digital euro preparation phase and T2/T2S payment infrastructure; provides a comparable institutional reference for CBDC design and cross-system governance that SAMA's mBridge work parallels.
• Bank of England: Historically and structurally analogous central bank with statutory independence and a maturing regulatory perimeter over UK fintechs — frequently cited as a gold-standard model that SAMA's Vision 2030 framework is converging toward.

Others

• Bank for International Settlements: Initial coordinator of the mBridge platform that SAMA joined; an international institution central-bank-owned and central-bank-serving, providing the cross-jurisdiction governance template relevant to SAMA's evolving multilateral CBDC participation.

Regional players

• Central Bank of Bahrain: GCC neighbor running one of the region's most advanced regulatory sandboxes and open banking frameworks; Bahrain's smaller, more liberalized financial sector offers a useful regional benchmark for SAMA's licensing design.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SAMA_GOV

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments2 records

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Frequently asked questions about Saudi Central Bank