Sarie the instant payment system was launched by The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) on Saturday under the patronage of Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak, governor of the Central Bank. The new instant payment system by the Central Bank Governor highlighted the empowerment of the national infrastructure for digital payments. Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak said that The launching of sarie system is part of a series led by SAMA and its initiative is to promote the national payment system and to enhance its infrastructure whose aim is to achieve financial inclusion. The fundamental strengthening in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s pioneer position in the financial sector can be done by the national payment system. The SAMA offers a secure and innovative payment system through the sarie system which also fulfills the need of various segments of the economy.
Saudi Payments’ Managing Director Fahd Al-Akeel in his statement said that The launching of the sarie system is a result of several months of meticulous efforts. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the deployment speed of the instant payment system across all the local banks is the fastest of its kind worldwide. The transactions using the sarie system will not exceed one riyal. The system has many benefits including using mobile number as an identifier instead of the IBAN for transactions between banks and verifying the recipient’s bank account before completing the transaction. The transactions less than SAR 20,000 will be instantly credited to the recipient’s account by the sarie system. The sarie system also offers a quick transfer service.
The sarie system serves as an essential milestone in developing payment systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and also one of the most significant indicators of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s advanced digital infrastructure. This system will enable the banks and companies to develop and innovate digital financial services that align with the requirement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s digital economy goal.