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The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has launched an instant payment system called “Sarie”, the banking authority said in a statement.
The new initiative will allow banking clients to send and receive low-value local transactions around the clock for a fee not exceeding 1 riyal ($0.26).
It will also provide transfer options and other services, including the use of the mobile number as an identifier instead of the IBAN, for transactions between banks.
In a virtual event marking the launch, SAMA governor Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak said the programme will empower the national infrastructure for digital payments, tracking the growth the Kingdom's payment sector has been undergoing for over 30 years.
"The launch of Sarie is the result of several months of meticulous efforts with all the partners. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the speed of the instant payment system's deployment across all the local banks is the fastest of its kind worldwide," Saudi Payments' managing director, Fahd Al-Akeel, said.
Other features
The new payment system offers other features, such as the ability to verify the validity of the recipient's bank account before completing the transaction.
Any financial transaction of less than 20,000 riyals will be instantly credited to the recipient account by the system.
The system also offers banking clients the option to make quick money transfers involving amounts less than 2,500 riyals. This type of transaction can be completed upon activation by the account holder without necessarily adding and activating the beneficiary.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Cleofe Maceda)
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