JEDDAH, 7 December — Saudi Arabia leads the Middle East figures in the use of credit cards. The latest figures show that Saudi banks have issued more than two million Visa cards. The figure was reached last June only two years after the Kingdom had recorded the millionth Visa card to be issued.
The growth of non-cash payments in Saudi Arabia has come from a government-led initiative to promote electronic banking. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has worked closely with organizations, including Visa, to encourage a move to electronic banking and to improve the network speed transactions.
The demand for plastic money shows no sign of slowing down. By the end of September, banks had issued 2,130,000 Visa cards, an increase of 28 percent compared to last year. Spending rose by 26 percent, to almost $14 billion in 55 million transaction — a rise of 30 percent over the previous 12 months.
Lain Jamison, general manager of Visa office in Riyadh, said "banks have worked hard to give their customers fast easy and global access to their funds and these figures prove that the appetite for modern payment continues to grow".
