SAUDI ARABIA
With a population of close to 38 million and a forecasted GDP of $1.086bn in 2025, Saudi Arabia is a large resource-rich open economy, characterised by high per‑capita income, substantial public savings via its sovereign investment vehicles, and strong external resilience. Net foreign assets — including those associated with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco — exceed 75 % of GDP, with public assets also comfortably surpassing public debt burdens.
A notable structural vulnerability lies in its growing public debt: gross government debt rose to about 26 % of GDP in 2024, though net debt remained low at ≈ 17 % due to large asset holdings. Despite issuing significant foreign‑currency debt to finance mega‑projects like NEOM, the kingdom remains among the least indebted sovereigns globally.
Fiscal credibility remains solid, underpinned by conservative borrowing against deep reserve cushions. Nevertheless, diversification efforts under Vision 2030 are stretching budgetary capacity, with deficits projected until at least 2026 as oil revenues moderate and capital spending accelerates.
Medium‑term challenges include accelerating non‑oil transformation, maintaining fiscal buffers amid volatile commodity prices, and managing climate and demographic transitions. Overall, economic growth is expected to remain stable into 2025, supported by oil export strength and structural investment.
Summary
BNP Paribas has a branch based in Riyadh (the only foreign bank to operate as a branch rather than a subsidiary) and offers domestic and cross-border cash management, liquidity and international trade finance solutions to both corporations headquartered in Saudi Arabia that are expanding overseas, and multinational corporations with a presence in Saudi Arabia.
Currency
- Saudi Riyal (SAR).
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Exchange rate: SAR per USD | 3.7500 | 3.7500 | 3.7500 | 3.7500 | 3.7500 |
Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, June 2021.
- The Saudi Arabian central bank is the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA - www.sama.gov.sa).
Bank supervision
- Saudi Arabian banks are supervised by SAMA's Banking Control Department.
Bank accounts
- A company is considered resident in Saudi Arabia if it is registered in Saudi Arabia, its head office is in Saudi Arabia or it is performing contracts or work in Saudi Arabia.
| Within SAUDI ARABIA | Outside SAUDI ARABIA | |
| Local Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible |
Not permitted |
| Foreign Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible |
Permitted without restriction, fully convertible |
| Within SAUDI ARABIA | Outside SAUDI ARABIA | |
| Local Currency | Permitted for GCC residents subject to SAMA approval. Permitted for non-resident entities but with numerous restrictions |
Not permitted |
| Foreign Currency | Permitted, with numerous restrictions |
Not applicable |
- Lifting fees are applied on payments between resident and non-resident bank accounts.
BNP Paribas Cash Management Capabilities
| Cash collections | |
| Cheque collections | |
| Direct debit collections | |
| Domestic incoming transfers | |
| Virtual IBAN | |
| Virtual accounts | |
| International incoming transfers | |
| Card acquiring |
| Cash withdrawals | |
| Cheque payments | |
| Direct debit payments | |
| Domestic outgoing transfers | |
| Commercial cards | |
| Virtual cards | |
| International outgoing transfers | |
| SWIFT gpi | |
| Real-time international payments through BNP Paribas’ network | |
| Card issuing |
| Local e-Banking | |
| Global e-Banking - Connexis | |
| SWIFT/ host to host |
Payments & collections
Cash remains the dominant payment method in Saudi Arabia. However, one of the key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, is to digitally transform the country’s payment system and increase the number of non-cash payments in its retail sector to 70%. In September 2020, according to Saudi Payments, 91% of all POS transactions were contactless (66% in 2019); nearly a quarter of all POS payments were mobile payments. In the same month there were 266 million payments via NFC technology, with a value of SAR 27.5 billion. In 2021, a new instant payments system, sarie, was launched.
Electronic banking services are available from most banks. These services are primarily used by larger companies. There is no national electronic banking system in Saudi Arabia, so companies use banks' proprietary services. Esal is a national electronic platform for business payments (e-invoicing). Esal also facilitates factoring for suppliers.
Online and mobile banking services are provided by most banks and are widely used. SADAD is the national EBPP system and enables payments to be made over the phone, online and at ATMs. There are more than a million registered users of SADAD. In 2020, 278,921,008 bills were paid through SADAD, with a value of SAR 481,258,765 thousand.
| SARIE | Type |
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| Participants |
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| Operating hours |
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| Clearing cycle details (e.g. cut-off times) |
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| System holidays |
* The date shown may vary by plus or minus one day. These dates are derived by converting from a non-Gregorian calendar (e.g., Muslim or Hindu) to the Gregorian calendar. Some of these dates cannot be determined in advance with absolute accuracy, even by the governing authorities. In the case of Muslim dates in particular, the feast days are determined by the sighting of a new/full moon. | |
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| System holidays |
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| SADAD | Type |
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| System holidays |
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| mada | Type |
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| Participants |
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| Transaction types processed |
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| Operating Hours |
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| Clearing cycle details (e.g. cut-off times) |
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| System holidays |
* The date shown may vary by plus or minus one day. These dates are derived by converting from a non-Gregorian calendar (e.g., Muslim or Hindu) to the Gregorian calendar. Some of these dates cannot be determined in advance with absolute accuracy, even by the governing authorities. In the case of Muslim dates in particular, the feast days are determined by the sighting of a new/full moon. |
- Credit transfers Credit transfers are used by companies to pay salaries and suppliers.
- Credit transfers are available as both paper-based and electronic payment instruments.
- All credit transfers are settled in real time via SARIE.
- Credit transfers are used by companies to pay salaries and suppliers.
- Credit transfers are available as both paper-based and electronic payment instruments.
- In 2021, a new instant payment system, sarie, was launched whereby payments can be sent in real time. Customers of local banks can make instant transactions up to SAR 20,000, while users can make transfers up to SAR 2,500 using aliases such as a mobile number or email address. Sarie is built on ISO 20022 messaging standards.
- All credit transfers are settled in real time via SARIE.
- In 2020, a total of 201,606,733 transactions were processed via SARIE (including direct debits), with a value of SAR 60,689,661 million. This was an increase on 2019 figures of 158,983,150 transactions, with a value of SAR 48,210,857 million.
- Direct debits are used for regular payments, such as utility payments.
- Direct are cleared and settled on a same-day basis via SARIE.
- The cheque is an important cashless payment instrument, used by both consumers and companies. However, cheque usage is in decline as electronic payment methods become more popular.
- In 2020, 1,882 commercial and personal cheques were processed, with a value of SAR 183,573 million. This is a decline on 2019 figures, of 2,876 cheques processed, with a value of SAR 260,473 million.
- SAR-denominated cheques drawn on banks in Damman, Jeddah or Riyadh are truncated into electronic items and cleared on a next-day basis via the ACH; 90% of all cheques are cleared through these clearing houses. All other SAR-denominated cheques are processed manually on a T+2 cycle at seven other SAMA branches (Al-Madinah, Dammam, Ta'if, Buraydah, Jazan, Tabuk and Abha).
- Foreign currency cheques are settled within 21 days via the ACH.
- Card payments are increasingly popular, especially for retail transactions.
- There were 34,336,693 payment cards in circulation at the end of 2020. Over 90% of all cards are debit cards. There are approximately 22 million mada cards in circulation.
- A contactless service for mada cards, mada Atheer, is available for purchases up to SAR 300. Over 72% of all POS terminals support contactless payments.
- Visa and MasterCard-branded cards are the most widely issued.
- Each bank has its own clearing arrangements with the relevant card issuer.
- All cards are issued with EMV chips and must be compatible with mada, the national POS and ATM network.
- There were 18,299 ATMs in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020.
- There were 721,060 POS devices in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020.
- All payments are processed via mada.
- mada links to the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) GCCNet ATM network, as well as to the national networks in Egypt, Iran, Jordan and Lebanon. (The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.)
- All ATMs and POS terminals are EMV-compliant.
- Electronic money schemes are available in Saudi Arabia.
- There were 5,179,247 e-wallets in use at the end of 2020 (2,837,143 in Q1 2020).
- In 2020, the total volume of e-money transactions was 101,070,700. The total value of e-money transactions totalled SAR 62,741,5472,196.
- There are four providers of e-wallet services in Saudi Arabia, including BayanPay and Hala.
- Sama is currently developing a national QR code platform.
Short term investments
Interest payable on credit balances
- Interest-bearing current accounts are available with regulatory approval.
Demand deposits
- Demand deposits denominated in SAR or major foreign currencies are available.
Time deposits
- Time deposits are available in SAR or major foreign currencies for terms up to one year.
- Sharia-compliant investment accounts are also available.
Certificates of deposit
- Domestic banks do not issue certificates of deposit.
Treasury (government) bills
- The Saudi Arabian government issues Treasury bills (T-Bills) at weekly auctions.
- T-bills are issued with terms of one week and one, three, six and 12 months.
- The minimum investment amount is SAR 50,000.
- Domestic commercial paper is not commonly issued by companies in Saudi Arabia.
Money market funds
- Mutual investment funds, some which are Sharia-compliant, are available.
Repurchase agreements
- Repurchase agreements are commonly available in Saudi Arabia, primarily to larger companies and banks.
- Repurchase agreements can only be arranged domestically and are exempt from withholding tax.
Banker's acceptances
- Banker's acceptances are not widely used in Saudi Arabia.
BNP Paribas Trade Finance Capabilities
| Documentary credits | |
| Documentary collections |
| Bank guarantees | |
| Standby letters of credit |
| Receivables | |
| Payables | |
| Inventory |
| Connexis Trade | |
| Connexis Supply Chain | |
| SWIFTNet Trade for Corporates | |
| Connexis Connect | |
| Connexis Guarantee | |
| SWIFTnet Supply Chain |
- Saudi Arabia represents one of BNP Paribas Global Trade Solutions' (GTS) key markets, primarily driven by the country's high economic growth. The bank's dedicated sales force, including a senior trade sales executive, middle officers and a trade structurer, supporting infrastructure-related projects that require structured solutions, including Shariah-compliant trade products offered through BNP Paribas Najmah.
International trade
- As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia has entered into a customs union with all GCC member states. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- As a member of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), Saudi Arabia has eliminated most trade tariffs with GAFTA member states. GAFTA comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
- Saudi Arabia has signed free trade agreements (FTA) with European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states, Australia, Singapore and the USA.
- Saudi Arabia is negotiating a FTA with Pakistan and with the UK.
- The GCC has signed an FTA with EFTA and Singapore. Trade talks are ongoing with the European Union, Mercosur, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, Pakistan and Turkey. A free trade agreement has been concluded with New Zealand but has not yet been ratified.
| Imports | Cars
| Broadcasting equipment | Refined Petroleum | Packaged medicines | Telephones |
| Primary Import sources | China (18.0%) | UAE (12.0%) | USA (9.0%) | Germany (5.0%) | |
| Exports | Crude petroleum | Refined petroleum | Polymers | Industrial alcohols | Natural gas |
| Export markets | China (20.0%) | India (11.0%) | Japan (11.0%) | South Korea (9.0%) | USA (5.0%) |
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Exports | - goods USD m | 183,607 | 221,862 | 294,387 | 261,617 | 173,864 |
| - services USD m | 17,253 | 18,132 | 20,529 | 24,243 | 10,248 | |
| Imports | - goods USD m | 127,843 | 123,401 | 125,638 | 140,281 | 125,920 |
| - services USD m | 70,267 | 78,575 | 83,952 | 78,660 | 53,883 | |
| Current account as % GDP | - 3.7 | 1.5 | 9.2 | 4.8 | - 2.8 | |
Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, June 2021.