Saudi Payments has announced the launched of an instant payment system called ‘sarie’, under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), media reports said. It has been launched in cooperation with IBM and Mastercard.
The recent developments are in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, where it aims to achieve 70 percent non-cash transactions by 2030. ‘sarie’ allows bank customers to send and receive money in real-time. Customers can make instant transactions of up to $5,300 through the system.
Maria Medvedeva, Vice President and Country Business Development Lead, Saudi Arabia, Mastercard told the media, “This is a significant milestone in our real-time payments journey and is the result of hard work. Saudi Arabia is an important market for Mastercard, and we anticipate that with this real-time payment system going live in the MEA region, many doors may soon open for ongoing innovation, both in the Kingdom and further afield.
“The initiative can significantly contribute towards digitising and modernising transactions in line with the goals of Vision 2030, and can also help increase the efficiency of the financial systems and offer consumers access to a wider range of financial services, positively impacting the Saudi economy and its citizens.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Kingdom recorded a 75 percent increase in digital payment activities last amid the coronavirus pandemic. During the same period, the Saudi Central Bank announced the launch of a new electronic instant payments system is scheduled to take place on February 21st.