Saudi Arabia’s central bank has added another name to its growing list of licensed payment service providers. The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, has granted an e-wallet license to Lite Advanced Financial Company, authorising the fintech to offer electronic wallet solutions in the Kingdom. The central bank reiterated its standard position that consumers should deal exclusively with authorised financial institutions.
Another Brick in Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Wall
The license is the latest in a series of regulatory approvals SAMA has issued as it works to deepen the Kingdom’s digital payments ecosystem. The regulator has been a consistent driver of fintech expansion, operating a licensing framework that has steadily drawn new entrants into Saudi Arabia’s payments market.
That market has grown considerably. Saudi Arabia achieved 79% non-cash retail transactions by the end of 2025, surpassing its cashless target ahead of schedule, driven by widespread adoption of mobile wallets, instant payment rails like SARIE, and expanded point-of-sale terminal networks. The figure has since climbed: SAMA has announced that e-payments now account for 85% of total retail payments in Saudi Arabia.
An Open but Regulated Market
SAMA formalised its Electronic Money Institution framework in 2020, defining digital wallet providers as EMIs and requiring them to obtain operating licenses, maintain a minimum capital of SAR 2 million, and keep client funds separated from operational funds.
The market has also opened to foreign competition. Google Pay launched digital payment services in Saudi Arabia in September 2025, while Ant International’s Alipay+ received SAMA approval the same year and is expected to go live in 2026. These global entrants join Samsung Pay, which entered earlier following SAMA’s publication of its e-wallet rules.
Despite the arrival of international players, SAMA has maintained control over the payment system by ensuring that mada remains the core payment layer, that local banks are not disintermediated, and that the central bank retains regulatory and data oversight.
What Lite Advanced’s License Signals
SAMA did not disclose specific details about Lite Advanced Financial Company’s planned products or target market. But the license aligns with the regulator’s broader mandate to diversify the provider landscape and promote financial inclusion, particularly as Saudi Arabia pushes toward its Vision 2030 target of establishing Riyadh as a global fintech hub.
Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector had reached 216 companies by the end of 2023, attracting SAR 2.7 billion in funding and creating over 6,700 jobs. With the government’s target of 525 fintech companies by 2030, the pace of licensing is unlikely to slow.
