Financial technology (fintech) is set to play a key role in Saudi Arabia’s economic and financial development. Over the past couple of years, the kingdom has taken a series of steps to introduce policies and initiatives to develop an ecosystem that not only boosts the domestic financial sector but also competes against other fintech ecosystems.

On Sept. 29, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that it permitted a number of companies to offer Open Banking Solutions — a digital method enabling customers to securely share financial data with third parties — in its Regulatory Sandbox, a platform open to fintechs and financial firms to test new digital solutions before launching on the market. These companies include Wally Global Arabia, Sanam Aliliddikhar for Information Technology, Istishraf Al-Bayanat for Financial Technology and Spare Arabian Financial Company.

This came after SAMA announced the licensing of two payment financial technology companies — Arab Sea Financial Company and Fatoraah — to provide payment services for e-commerce in the kingdom. The latest licensing brings the number of licensed payment companies in the country to a total of 21, in addition to five companies that obtained "in-principal approval,” according to a SAMA statement.

The latest licensing follows an update by SAMA to its Framework Regulatory Sandbox at the end of August. The updated framework allows flexibility by enabling financial institutions as well as local and international startups to apply anytime throughout the year rather than applying at a specific time.