Saudi Arabia’s central bank announced during the Money20/20 Middle East event in Riyadh that Google Pay will soon be introduced across the Kingdom. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) also signed an agreement with Ant International to enable Alipay+ payments by 2026, both of which will run through the country’s National Payment System, mada.
The initiatives are part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, which aims to drive financial inclusion, grow the digital economy, and raise the share of cashless transactions to 70 percent by 2025. They also align with the Financial Sector Development Program, a core pillar of Vision 2030.
According to SAMA, Google Pay will offer users a secure and seamless way to add and manage mada cards and credit cards within Google Wallet. “The launch is part of a broader effort to modernise market infrastructure and enhance the digital payments ecosystem, reinforcing the Kingdom’s role as a global fintech leader,” the bank said.
The deal with Ant International means that by 2026, visitors to Saudi Arabia will be able to use international digital wallets linked to Alipay+ to complete secure transactions across participating retail outlets.
Highlighting the growth of the fintech sector, SAMA Governor Ayman Al-Sayari revealed that the number of fintech companies operating in the Kingdom surged from 82 at the end of 2022 to about 281 by August 2025 .
Source: https://thearabianmirror.com/google-pay-and-alipay-launch-in-saudi-arabia/
