I extend my warm greetings to distinguished guests, ministers, industry leaders, and global delegates.
It is a great pleasure to see you all at the second gathering of Money 20/20 Middle East being held here in Riyadh. This event is a testament to Saudi Arabia’s growing prominence as a global hub for financial innovation.
Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a leading Fintech hub has continued to gather momentumو reflecting the robust foundation provided by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiatives.
Since we last met here in 2025, the Fintech sector has demonstrated further extraordinary growth, with a more mature, product-rich ecosystem. The number of operating Fintech companies reached 371 by end of August 2026.
The Kingdom has witnessed significant progress and rapid growth in the adoption of electronic payments, which accounted for 85% of total retail payments in 2025.
Open Banking services have moved from the regulatory sandbox phase to commercial licensing, driving the creation of over 337,000 open-banking-connected accounts.
Investment momentum into Fintech has also shown rapid acceleration, with cumulative investments exceeding SAR 30 billion by the end of the first half of this year across venture capital and strategic funding, reinforcing the Saudi Fintech sector’s position as an attractive destination for venture capital in the region.
These successes are the fruit of a collective regulatory focus on enabling innovation through a prudent framework encompassing licensing pathways, robust supervisory tools, and shared infrastructure that have lowered entry barriers and solved industry challenges, while preserving financial stability.
SAMA affirms its commitment to encourage innovators to participate in our thriving domestic eco-system, through its support for innovative business models.
In a global environment marked by elevated uncertainties, the Kingdom’s economy has remained resilient, with a stable and progressive forward-looking regulatory stance serving to preserve investor confidence in Saudi Arabia as a safe, attractive, and growth-ready destination.
Over the last year, SAMA has emphasized efforts that prioritize:
- The creation and evolution of accessible common infrastructure,
- Acceleration of time-to-market for new products and services,
- Preservation of a stable and inclusive financial system.
With an eye to the future, we have also deepened our ongoing engagements with global regulators on stablecoins and virtual assets as we assess risks and develop safeguards, ensuring that the Kingdom remains a responsible and balanced participant in digital assets markets.
We live today in an age of extraordinarily rapid technological innovation. Breakthrough advancements in Artificial Intelligence and other novel technologies have brought us to the frontiers of a new era in finance, one which is powered by AI agents, real-time data, and fluid cross-border activity.
These new advancements must be addressed with care and deliberation, and progress will need to be measured not solely by speed or scale, but by the trust we build and preserve in the financial system of the future, and ensuring that it meets the aspirations of the Kingdom and its citizens.
To achieve this, all stakeholders, including regulators, and industry leaders must collaborate as partners to create agile frameworks that both foster innovation and protect stability.
At SAMA, we are firmly committed to playing our role in ensuring that progress unfolds within a framework of stability and accountability, and to doing so in partnership with fellow regulators and the financial industry.
As we move forward, we must do so with a balanced approach that embraces innovation while upholding the principles of stability and trust.
The future of Fintech will be shaped by our ability to balance these dual priorities with diligence, cooperation, and a shared commitment to sustainable progress.
I will now conclude my remarks by thanking all of the organizers, partners and attendees present here today for helping nurture the essential collaboration I spoke of earlier and enabling the sharing of ideas and insights. I wish you all continued success.
Thank you.