Volume of e-commerce in Saudi Arabia jumps to $12bln

RIYADH — Abdul Aziz Al-Afaliq, vice president of operation and shared services at Saudi Payments Company, said that the total volume of electronic commerce in the Kingdom reached SR44 billion, due to the increase in the use of the Internet and digital applications.

“The local payments sector is undergoing a comprehensive transformation phase in a way reshaping and renewing the infrastructure of financial markets and institutions so as to become a leading global model that meets customer expectations and helps generate new opportunities for this sector,” he said.

The Saudi Payments Company is a subsidiary of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Al-Afaliq said that the Central Bank and Saudi Payments are working to develop regulatory frameworks and stimulate policies and licenses for the advantage of service providers and beneficiaries as well as to monitor them with the aim of advancing the transformation of digital payments.

“The payment system in the Kingdom has developed significantly in recent years, and bank payment cards enjoy a high degree of acceptance through more than half a million points of sale, which motivated many consumers to continue to shift towards e-commerce, and thus enhancing digital payments, which are now the dominant trend in the business sector,” he pointed out.

Al-Afaliq said work is going on to create an environment suitable for all service providers in a way that ensures a focus on the best services that are provided with professionalism and constructive competition, which will positively affect the growth of the human resources sector and increase the demand for jobs related to e-commerce and digital payment systems.