Saudi Arabia: Adopted Updated Regulatory Sandbox for Financial Institutions and Fintechs

On 31 August 2022, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) - in collaboration with FinTech Saudi - announced an update to the Regulatory Sandbox Framework. It is a tool that was developed as part of Vision 2030. The sandbox's function lies in giving financial services companies a "safe space" to test new digital solutions. The sandbox will review companies that are introducing non-regulated technology or new FinTech solutions. Topics include QR code purchases, point-of-sale devices, e-wallet services, etc. After a review of six months, SAMA decides whether the technology or service may hit the market. The updated framework accepts local and international firms, where the biggest change is in moving from a "cohort-based" approach to an "Always Open" approach. Specifically, that means that entities may test their services/models when they are ready as opposed to a group-determined model.