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PAYMENT SERVICES PROVIDER REGULATIONS

TypeRegulation
Issuing authoritySaudi Central Bank (SAMA)
FrameworkFinancial services
TierImplementing & executive regulation
Legal statusBinding

The Payment Services Provider Regulations (updated August 2020) are the Saudi Central Bank's licensing and supervisory regime for non-bank payment service providers in the Kingdom. SAMA issued them under its powers in the Banking Control Law, the SAMA Charter and the Anti-Money Laundering Law, pursuant to Council of Ministers Resolution No. 226 (2/5/1440H); the subsequent Law of Payments and Payment Services (Royal Decree M/26, 22/3/1443H) has since placed the payments sector on its own statutory footing.

The Regulations define which payment services are in and out of scope, and establish four licence categories, Micro and Major Payment Institutions (PIs) and Micro and Major Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), with common requirements for all applicants plus category-specific capital and governance thresholds.

Beyond licensing, the Regulations impose ongoing obligations on governance, safeguarding of funds, record-keeping, outsourcing and reporting to SAMA. For the atlas, they anchor the payments limb of SAMA's rulebook, alongside the January 2020 Regulatory Guidelines that preceded them.

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Content and register data licensed CC BY 4.0. Cite the live URL. Machine-readable register (JSON) · Markdown register · Content last verified: 2026-08-13