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Saudi Fintech Industry Grows Threefold in 2020

The establishment of Fintech companies expedites in Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
The establishment of Fintech companies expedites in Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
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Saudi Fintech Industry Grows Threefold in 2020

The establishment of Fintech companies expedites in Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
The establishment of Fintech companies expedites in Saudi Arabia (Reuters)

Fintech Saudi has revealed in its annual report 2019/20 that it is seeing the emergence of a growing fintech industry in the Kingdom.

The number of operating fintechs has increased three-fold in a year, from 20 in 2019 to 60 this year, with over 100 fintech startups at the idea or pre-commercial stage, the report noted.

The Fintech Saudi Annual Report 2019/20 provides an overview of the development of the fintech industry in Saudi Arabia over the past year and highlights a number of key developments that have taken place to support the growth of the fintech industry.

There has been an increase in fundraising deals completed in Saudi fintech for the year to date with the total investment amount already surpassing 2019 levels, it added.

“This is building up to a fintech market in Saudi Arabia that, according to Statista, is expected to reach transaction values of over $33 billion by 2023.

On the significance of this report, Director of Fintech saudi Mulaik al-Nejoud said the period extending from 2019 till 2020 has been pivotal for the fintech industry in the Kingdom.

“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we have seen progress in regulations, infrastructure and an increasing number of investment rounds in fintech companies.”

This has built a solid foundation to support the emergence of a growing fintech industry in Saudi Arabia that will contribute in a meaningful way to its Vision 2030, she stated.

The developments include the launch of Apple Pay, the establishment of Saudi Payments, and the continued issuance of regulatory testing licenses and regulations by the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to support fintech activities.

There have also been major initiatives, including the National Commercial Bank (NCB) / Monsha’at fintech accelerator program and the launch of Riyad Bank’s fintech fund.

The report consists of a number of sections including an overview of the fintech industry by KPMG, the view from Fintech and MAGNiTT, and interviews with the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox and the CMA FinTech Lab.

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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Türkiye’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation.
Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%.
The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December, The Associated Press reported.

Demand within the country was slowing, helping to reduce inflation, it said.
Inflation in Türkiye surged in recent years due to declining foreign reserves and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policy of lowering rates as a way to tame inflation — which he later abandoned.
Inflation stood at 47% in November, after having peaked at 85% in late 2022, although independent economists say the real rate is much higher than the official figures.

Most economists argue that higher interest rates help control inflation, but the Turkish leader had fired central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his previous rate-cutting policies.

Following a return to more conventional policies under a new economic team, the central bank raised interest rates from 8.5% to 50% between May 2023 and March 2024. The bank had kept rates steady at 50% until Thursday's rate cut.
The high inflation has left many households struggling to afford basic goods, such as food and housing.