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Saudi Central Bank Launches Instant Payments System

The Saudi Central Bank launched Thursday the instant payments system. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi Central Bank launched Thursday the instant payments system. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Central Bank Launches Instant Payments System

The Saudi Central Bank launched Thursday the instant payments system. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi Central Bank launched Thursday the instant payments system. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) launched on Thursday the instant payments system, effective from Feb. 21.

This follows the successful launch of the first phase of the trial to activate the system with a number of Saudi local banks.

The system will enable financial institutions, companies, and individuals to complete instant transfers among various banks within 24 hours, seven days a week.

The Central Bank stated that the system, developed by Saudi Payments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAMA, will reinforce economic development.

It will also contribute to increasing transparency in payments between companies and individuals, activating innovation in financial services, as well as upgrading services provided to beneficiaries.

The system further increases the effectiveness of financial transactions among all parties in the corporate and retail sectors and enables banking institutions and financial technology companies to improve financial products and manage cash flows in businesses.

The Central Bank's statement emphasized that the system works seamlessly between Saudi banks and financial technology companies, and it helps reduce operational costs and provide innovative solutions to the financial sector.

SAMA will supervise the new system which, it said, would achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 objective in making the Kingdom less dependent on cash.

Two years ago, SAMA, represented by Saudi Payments, inked a deal with Vocalink and IBM to develop the financial sector infrastructure. It expected an increase of digital payments by 15 percent, which will lead to saving SAR16 billion ($4.2 billion) from the cost of cash during the first five years of operation.

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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won't be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade until April 2, but made no mention of a reprieve for Canada despite his Commerce secretary saying a comparable exemption was likely.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd."

Earlier on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the one-month reprieve on hefty tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that has been granted to automotive products is likely to be extended to all products that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

Lutnick told CNBC he expected Trump to announce that extension on Thursday, a day after exempting automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he slapped on imports from Canada and Mexico earlier in the week.

Trump "is going to decide this today," Lutnick said, adding "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."

"So if you think about it this way, if you lived under Donald Trump's US-Mexico-Canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes," he said.

Nonetheless, Trump's social media post made no mention of a reprieve for Canada, the other party to the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Lutnick said his "off the cuff" estimate was that more than 50% of the goods imported from the two US neighbors - also its largest two trading partners - were compliant with the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Lutnick's comments "promising" in remarks to reporters in Canada.

"That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I'm going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it," Trudeau said. "But it is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place."

Lutnick emphasized that the reprieve would only last until April 2, when he said the administration plans to move ahead with reciprocal tariffs under which the US will impose levies that match those imposed by trading partners.

In the meantime, he said, the current hiatus is about getting fentanyl deaths down, which is the initial justification Trump used for the tariffs on Mexico and Canada and levies on Chinese goods that have now risen to 20%.

"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."

Indeed, Trudeau is expecting the US and Canada to remain in a trade war.

"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.