Saudi Arabia’s contactless payment penetration rate is ‘94% of all digital transactions’

Saudi Arabia’s contactless payment penetration rate is ‘94% of all digital transactions’

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has been one of the leading countries in contactless payments, with a penetration rate of 94 percent of all digital transactions as compared to 70 percent in other developed countries, Maria Madvedeva, vice president at Mastercard Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, told Arab News. “The percentage of Saudi youth willing to experiment with new methods (of payments) is about 69 percent. But the rest of the world is at 60 percent. The desire to really look at new solutions is extreme here in the Kingdom,” she told Arab News during the Global AI Summit in Riyadh. Madvedeva is betting on the Saudi fintech ecosystem to continue to expand rapidly, and believes that Mastercard will grow with it. “As we have seen opening up of Open Banking, as we’ll see opening up of buy now, pay later and Central Bank Digital Currency technologies, we will continue to invest and grow together with the country in those areas,” she said. She added: “We have so many opportunities to convert cash, and look into digitizing over different cash aspects in government, commercial, business, and also in the personal space.” As the rise of buy now, pay later options is increasing within