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These Rules shall be complied with in conjunction with the Payment Services Provider Regulations and the Rules on Outsourcing issued by SAMA.
The following terms and phrases,
wherever mentioned herein, shall have the
meanings assigned thereto, unless the context
otherwise requires:
SAMA: the Saudi Central Bank.
Rules: the Rules of Payment Products and Services Approval.
Company: a payments company licensed to engage in payments business.
Board of Directors: the company's board of directors.
Product: the payment product that the company will provide for customers under the In-Scope Services stated in the Payment Services Provider Regulations.
Service: the payment service that the company will provide for customers under the In-Scope Services stated in the Payment Services Provider Regulations.
Product/Service Code: the identification number assigned by SAMA for each product/service provided by the company.
Request Form: a form set by SAMA for the company to fill out when requesting SAMA's approval for providing new products or services, which includes a list of the required documents that the company must attach with the approval request form.
The Rules aim to set the necessary regulatory procedures and requirements for the companies to follow prior to marketing and offering their products or services to customers, and to define the products and services that require obtaining SAMA's prior approval. The Rules also aim to enhance the efficiency of product/service-related risk management.
These Rules shall apply to all products and services offered by the company.
1. The company shall comply with all relevant regulations and rules issued by SAMA or other authorities.
2. The company shall provide accurate and complete information in the request form and disclose any additional relevant information. The company shall be held liable for any misleading information provided in any way.
3. If SAMA deems that the product or service provided by the company does not comply with SAMA's instructions, SAMA may require the company, with clear justification, to amend or stop the product/service or discontinue providing the product/service for new customers. In this case, the company shall fulfill all SAMA's observations.
4. The company shall keep an updated record of all its products and services for the purposes of the supervision and control of SAMA.
Products and services subject to these Rules that require SAMA's approval
1. New services and products that the company has not previously provided, i.e. a product or service that the company offers in the Kingdom for the first time regardless of whether it was previously provided by the company or the parent company outside the Kingdom, provided that these services are within the scope of payment services stipulated in the Payment Services Providers Regulations.
2. Products/services previously approved that have undergone substantial changes in their structure, characteristics and risk profile. The Chief Risk Officer (or any other senior risk officer designated by the Company) and the Compliance Officer are responsible for assessing whether the change to the existing product/service is considered substantial. The purpose is to determine if that product/service is new. Changes to the principal terms and conditions relating to payment, other significant rights and obligations of counterparties and customers, the intended uses and target markets of the product, and the nature of the assets upon which the product is based must be taken into account when determining whether the change or modification to the product is considered substantial.
Procedures for submitting an approval request to SAMA
1. To obtain SAMA's approval, the company must send a request that contains all the required documents to the following e-mail: PRDPayments@SAMA.GOV.SA
2. The company must provide any missing information/documents and address comments within (10) working days from the date of receiving SAMA's notification. This period may be extended for a similar period once SAMA accepts the justifications submitted by the company.
3. If the company fails to provide the missing information/documents or address comments within the period specified in provision (2) above, SAMA has the right to close the request, and the company will have to resubmit the request.
4. The company must not market or offer the product/service until after obtaining SAMA's approval and receiving the product/service code.
Documents required for approval requests
1. Business plan for the product or service attached with detailed document (s) that include:
a. The strategy, including mission, objectives, unique benefits, target segments, and market research.
b. A detailed description of the product and service.
c. The operating model.
d. Feasibility study.
e. A separate and comprehensive assessment of AML/CFT risks and the company's controls to mitigate such risks.
f. A separate and comprehensive assessment of cyber security risks and the company's controls to mitigate such risks.
g. A separate and comprehensive assessment of technical risks and the company's controls to mitigate such risks, including those that may affect business continuity.
h. A separate and comprehensive assessment of financial fraud risks and the company's controls to mitigate such risks.
2. Acknowledgment and undertaking from the CEO, Compliance Manager, Risk Manager, and Information Security Manager to confirm that the product/service to be provided developed in accordance with all relevant rules and instructions and with the policies adopted by the company (Appendix A).
1. SAMA assigns an identification number to each product/service, which includes a special code for the company and for the product/service. The same code is used when requesting any modification to the product/service.
2. The company must obtain a code for each product or service before marketing or offering them.
3. The company is not entitled to market or offer the product/service without indicating the product/service code assigned by SAMA in all relevant documents.
Last update: 13 April 2022
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Disclaimer: Translation into other languages depends on the Google translation, Therefor the SCBC is not responsible for the accuracy of the information in the new language.
