Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market Size & Share Analysis - Emerging Trends, Growth Opportunities, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2025 - 2032)

Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market Emerging Trends

Expansion of Open Banking and API Integration Is Key Trend

• The rise in the usage of APIs and open banking for safe and convenient payment options is the key trend in this market.
• With these services, banks can easily transfer customer data with certified fintech solutions.
• This helps in developing better digital payment methods, such as apps allowing users to send money and pay bills more easily.
• The API services connect and work with financial systems for faster, secure, and personalized payments.
• As per reports, around 79% of the consumers in urban areas use online payment methods due to stable internet connectivity.
• Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and Financial Sector Development program aims to ensure 70% of the transactions are digital by 2030.

Increasing Financial Inclusion Efforts Is Key Driver

• The increase in the volume of digital transactions for safer and more secure digital methods is the key driver for the market.
• The popularity of this method is driven by the rise in the usage of digital wallets and mobile apps, such as STC Pay, that provide quicker and easier ways to pay via smartphones.
• Fintech companies and the government support rural and underserved areas in accessing affordable digital payment methods.
• As per reports, 22% of the consumers in rural areas still pay via cash due to the inadequate internet accessibility and presence of fewer fintech companies.
• The Vision 2030 aims to ensure that 80% of the transactions are done without cash by the end of this decade.

Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market Segmentation Analysis

Payment Method Analysis

The credit & charge cards category held the largest market share, of 40%, in 2024, due to their increasing usage at online and offline stores. Flexibility, reward options, and secure features make shopping more efficient, safer, and convenient. Additionally, credit cards are widely used for international shopping. According to reports, around 33% of the consumers use credit cards for convenient shopping.

The mobile wallets category will have the highest CAGR, of 13.8%, because they offer contactless, quick, and convenient options through smartphones. The rise in smartphone usage, betterment in internet accessibility, and government initiatives, such as the Saudi Arabian Riyal Instant Payment Method, advance the cashless ecosystem. According to reports, around 80% of the consumers use mobile wallets, for instance, Mada Pay and Apple Pay.

The payment methods analyzed in this report are:

• Debit Cards
• Credit & Charge Cards (Largest Category) 
• Mobile Wallets (Fastest-Growing Category) 
• Bank Transfers
• BNPL

Payment Channel Analysis

The POS terminals category held the largest market share, of 65% in 2024, due to the mass usage of POS devices and rising consumer preference for contactless offline payments. This method provides safe and clean transaction experiences. As per reports, around 95% of the contactless transactions occurred in 2024, showing a major shift in customer preferences for cashless payments.

The e-commerce/online payments category will have the highest CAGR, of 13.9%, due to the growing popularity of online shopping owing to easy online payment methods, widespread internet access, and rising trust in online transactions. Mastercard and the SAMA have established a local system to enable fast and safe e-commerce payments.

The payment channels analyzed in this report are:

• Point of Sale (POS) Terminals (Largest Category)
  • Contactless Payments (NFC)
  • Chip & PIN/Magnetic Stripes
• E-commerce/Online Payments (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Mobile Payments
• ATM/Self-Service Kiosks
• QR Codes
  • Static
  • Dynamic

End Use Analysis

The retail & e-commerce category held the largest market share, of 50% in 2024, due to the increasing the volume of offline and online digital transactions. The rising usage of e-commerce platforms, such as Noon and Amazon, and of POS and mobile wallets in stores drive the market. As per reports, around 91% of the consumers shop on e-commerce platforms. Additionally, a survey by PYMNTS and Visa reveals that consumers prefer click-and-mortar shopping in the kingdom for its better experience.

The banking, financial services & and insurance category will have the highest CAGR, of 14%, due to the rising usage of mobile banking, a high number of fintech apps, and digital transformation of the financial sector. The various investment channels provided by the SAMA and Vision 2030 further drive the market growth.

The end uses analyzed in this report are: 

• Retail & E-commerce (Largest Category)
• Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Government & Utilities
• Healthcare
• Transportation & Logistics
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Education & Public Services

Transaction Analysis

The business-to-consumer category held the largest market share, of 55% in 2024, due to the strong retail activity, digital transactions, and rising consumer usage of online methods. Government programs, including the E-Invoicing initiative under Vision 2030, promote a cashless society. Around 63% of the internet users shop via B2C platforms.

The business-to-business category will have the highest CAGR, of 14.5%, due to the adoption of digital tools for financial transactions, the integration of ERP tools with payment solutions, and government support for digitalization in businesses.

The transactions analyzed in this report are:

• Business-to-Consumer (Largest Category) 
• Business-to-Business (Fastest-Growing Category) 
• Consumer-to-Consumer
• Government-to-Person
• Person-to-Government

Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market Geographical Analysis

The Central category held the largest market share, of 40% in 2024, due to the strong online infrastructure and active consumer participation. As per reports, around 35% of the total POS transactions occur in this region, led by Riyadh. The increasing population of tech-driven consumers and the rising adoption of smartphones and cashless payments drive the market growth.

The Southern category will have the highest CAGR, 15%, due to the rising demand for mobile wallets, increasing internet penetration, and various government initiatives to deliver digital access in underserved areas, such as Abha and Jazan.

The regions analyzed in this report are: 

• Central (Largest Category) 
• Western
• Eastern
• Northern
• Southern (Fastest-Growing Category)

Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market Competitive Landscape

The market is moderately consolidated because of the presence of a few larger players, such as STC Pay; and leading banks, including AI Rajhi Bank. These companies have expertise in a wide range of card payments, POS systems, and card services, supported by government initiatives and SAMA. Fintech companies and emerging companies raise market competitiveness by increasing consumer preferences.

Saudi Arabia Digital Payment Market News

• In January 2024, Tamara collaborated with Paymob to combine Tamara's BNPL solution with Paymob's payment, to help SMEs in the Middle East and North African markets.
• In September 2023, HyperPay and Paymentology partnered to boost their payment abilities by offering customized solutions with advanced technology to end users.
• In February 2023, Tap Payments and Alibaba signed an MoU to use Alibaba's cloud network to build a secure payment solution.