Fintech Digest: Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Space Grows With 16 New Licenses

Fintech Digest: Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Space Grows With 16 New Licenses

Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector has broadened, with licenses issued to 16 new fintech companies during the third quarter of this year (Zawya).

According to the Saudi Central Bank governor, 13 of these companies come from the payments and electronic wallets sector, while the remaining three firms were engaged in insurance and finance.

The news comes on the heels of a Fintech Saudi report published in October this year, which suggested that Saudi Arabia’s fintech companies grew by 37% in number this year, attracting record investments to the tune of SAR 1.3 billion (US$347 million).

Further, payments companies secured 93% of the country’s venture capital investments this year at the time of publishing.

Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector has been on a funding growth spree. Between January and August, they raised US$157.2 million, nearly nine times the annual total of US$18 million raised in 2019. Further, a quarter of funding deals in the first half of the year in Saudi Arabia went to fintech companies.

According to Saudi Capital Market Authority chairman Mohammed Elkuwaiz, fintech companies in the country are able to add value by developing technical ideas that challenge norms, building products that did not exist before in the country, the Zawya report quoted.

MEA Fintech News