“Saudi has one of highest outflow(s) of remittances in the region. Hence working on innovative ideas for cross border transfers, domestic payments, peer-to-peer lending for SMEs and other fintech ideas is a priority,” Mohamed Roushdy, head of technology at Dubai Asset Management said.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has announced the start of the design of a ‘sandbox’ regulatory environment that allows local and international financial technology firms to test new digital solutions. The initiative is set to improve the principal of innovation in financial services and digital payments services, SAMA said in a statement on its website, adding that the sandbox will help fintech companies test their products in an environment with relaxed controls, which will facilitate financial transactions and reduce costs.

SAMA said in the statement that permission to work in the sandbox environment has been granted to seven companies looking to provide digital payment services, and permission to 11 local and international banks, allowing for accounts to be opened and updatedwithout the need to visit branches.

Source Credit: Zawya
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