In 2025, Saudi Arabia exceeded its fintech targets, recording expansion in its startup community, strong investment activity, and expanding cashless adoption.

Digital banking was a key theme throughout the year, with new banks launching operations, securing regulatory approval, and attracting millions of customers.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers emerged as national priorities, led by government-backed AI company Humain and multibillion-dollar partnerships with global tech firms.

Regulators expanded fintech licensing, sandboxes, and fintech labs, while introducing consumer-friendly credit card rules and investment reforms to attract foreign capital.

Despite these progresses, challenges remained, especially around talent shortages and increasing regulatory complexity.

Saudi fintech exceeds goals

In 2025, Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector maintained its growth momentum, underpinned by an expanding startup ecosystem, a rising talent pool, and continued strong capital inflows.

According to Fintech Saudi’s annual fintech report, the country is now home to 261 fintech companies, up 21% from 216 in 2024 and 13% above the target of 230 companies set for the end of 2025.

Investment activity also remained strong this year, with cumulative investment in the sector reaching SAR 7.9 billion (US$2.1 billion). This figure exceeds the 2025 target of SAR 2.6 billion (US$693 million) by 204%.

The expansion of the Saudi fintech ecosystem and steady capital inflows in the space translated into strong job creation. Employment in Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector now stands at 11,046 direct jobs, up 64% year-over-year (YoY) and 76% above the 2025 target of 6,277 jobs.

Cashless payments surge

Cashless transactions were a major theme this year, driven by soaring use of payment cards, modernized payment infrastructure, and the widespread adoption of mobile wallets.

In 2024, electronic payments accounted for 79% of all retail transactions in Saudi Arabia, up from 70% in 2023, according to fintech research firm Whitesight. Back in 2019, that share stood at just 36%, underscoring the country’s rapid digital payment transformation.

Saudi Arabia’s domestic payment rails posted strong growth across multiple channels:

• Mada, the country’s local card network, recorded 1.12 billion e-commerce transactions in 2024, growing 59% annually since 2020;
• SADAD, the national electronic bill payment system, processed 364 million transactions, up 8% annually since 2020;
• sarie, Saudi Arabia’s real-time payment system, reached 593 million transactions in 2024, equivalent to a 50% annual growth rate since 2020; and
• Card payments via points-of-sale (POS) reached 10.4 billion transactions, growing 38% annually since 2020.

Adoption of digital wallets also increased, with the number of active customers on digital wallets rose 52% YoY to 14.4 million in 2024. Merchant acceptance of digital payments also expanded, with the number of POS terminals increasing 18% YoY to 2 million in 2025, and e-commerce acceptance surging 32% YoY to 77,000 merchants.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia is opening its market to foreign players, with Google launching its digital payments and mobile wallet services in the country in September, and Alipay+ expected to go live by 2026. This reflects the country’s push to foster competition, and enhance cross-border payment capabilities.

Digital banking gains traction

Digital banking was another central theme in 2025, with newly licensed digital banks launching operations and rapidly gaining market share.

D360, a fully licensed digital-only, Sharia-compliant bank, launched operations in December 2024. It offers app-based banking services to retail and business customers, including digital current and savings accounts, low-cost transfers, digital payment cards, banking-as-a-service (BaaS), and embedded banking. The bank reports more than 1 million customers.

STC Bank, formerly STC Pay, converted into a licensed digital bank and commenced operations in January 2025. It provides accounts, transfers, payments, cards with expense tracking, and merchant solutions including QR and payroll services, serving around 1.5 million customers.

Vision Bank, another digital bank licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), launched operations in September 2025. Backed by a consortium of companies and investors led by Abdulrahman bin Saad Al-Rashed and including Tadawul-listed Al Moammar Information Systems (MIS), the bank initially rolled out services to a limited customer base, including Murabaha term deposits, bank cards, domestic transfers, and bill payments.

Most recently, EZ Bank received approval for a digital banking license, further expanding the roster of institutions operating under SAMA’s digital-only banking framework.

AI and data centers move to the forefront

AI and data centers became dominant themes in Saudi Arabia’s business and investment landscape in 2025.

A central player is Humain, a homegrown company established in May 2025 under the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to drive the country’s AI strategy. It’s building out a full stack of data centers, cloud capabilities, large language models and applications.

Humain plans to build up to 6 gigawatts in data center capability across the country by 2034, partnering with key AI partners, including Nvidia, AMD, Amazon Web Services, Qualcomm and Cisco. In October, it announced a US$3 billion deal with private equity giant Blackstone to build data centers. It also publicly launched Humain One, an AI-powered operating system where users speak or type to a computer to tell it to perform tasks.

Saudi Arabia is also deepening collaboration with Google Cloud, which, together with PIF, is investing US$10 billion to build and operate a global AI hub domestically in partnership with Humain. The initiative aims to support AI-driven innovation for Saudi and US companies operating in the region.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) currently lead the region’s data center race, with 52 and 59 operating data centers, respectively, according to Data Center Map. Saudi Arabia has more than 40 additional facilities under construction, while its futuristic city of Neom is preparing a 12-megawatt site. Riyadh aims to surpass 1,300 megawatt of capacity by 2030, driven by Vision 2030 and aggressive investment in AI and digital infrastructure.

New and expanded fintech licensing

In 2025, SAMA continued to broaden fintech licensing by authorizing new firms and granting full operational approvals. New licensed entities included Tal Finance, a company offering debt-based crowdfunding solutions, and Hiberbay Ink Al-Saoudia for IT Systems, which delivers e-wallet services.

SAMA also allowed several fintech startups to enter its regulatory sandbox to test innovative services, including SpireTech for open banking application programming interfaces (APIs), The Lending Hub and Soar for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and Ldun for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) factoring solutions. These additions bring the total number of fintech companies in the regulatory sandbox to 25.

Separately, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) continued to operate its Fintech Lab, issuing experimental fintech permits to a total of 68 fintech companies to date. Of these, 36 have commenced operations, 14 are completing requirements to launch, five have graduated from the Lab, and others have concluded their permit period.

Regulatory updates

2025 also saw several regulatory developments with a direct impact on fintech companies.

In mid-2025, SAMA introduced revised credit card regulations, aiming to enhance transparency, improve disclosure, and reduce consumer costs. Key changes include a cap on cash withdrawal fees, permission for customers to deposit funds above their credit limit and withdraw excess amounts without penalties, and the introduction of a mandatory minimum 25-day grace period, allowing customers to repay balances without late fees.

In parallel, SAMA’s updated investment law, introduced earlier this year, streamlines investment procedures, strengthens investor protections, and aligns regulatory practices with global standards. It aims to advance Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification objectives, and position the country as a competitive and secure destination for foreign capital.

Challenges remain

Despite strong momentum, challenges persist. Skilled talent shortages remain in short supply, particularly in advanced fintech, AI, and cloud engineering roles. A 2025 report by Nucamp highlights a 20% shortfall between tech job vacancies and qualified local talent.

Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks continue to evolve. This means that businesses must adapt to changing regulations, navigate increasing compliance complexity, and invest continuously in governance, security, and risk management to ensure regulatory alignment.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on image by user6702303 via Freepik