Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
Who regulates BNPL in Saudi Arabia?
Content reviewed 2026-09-12 · How we check sources
Short answer
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). A company carrying out Buy Now Pay Later activity in Saudi Arabia must operate within SAMA's BNPL regulatory framework and cannot carry on the regulated BNPL activity without the required SAMA licence.
What this means
SAMA has dedicated Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay Later Companies. The rules place BNPL inside SAMA's supervised finance perimeter and apply regulatory requirements to the provider rather than treating BNPL as an unregulated merchant-payment feature.
The product should be tested against SAMA's BNPL definition before launch, particularly where the commercial model combines merchant payments, consumer credit and technology services. The legal provider of the credit is the key entity for the licensing analysis.
A regional BNPL licence does not passport into Saudi Arabia. A company entering KSA should map its Saudi legal and operating structure directly against SAMA's current BNPL rules even if the same product is already authorised in another Gulf market.
Article 5 sets the minimum capital for a BNPL company at SAR 5 million, subject to SAMA’s power to raise or lower it in light of market conditions and the company’s risk profile. This licensing capital is separate from the budget needed to fund customer receivables.
Official sources
SAMA — Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Companies ↗SAMA BNPL Rules — Article 5: capital ↗Ask with your entity, activity and regulator.
Regulatory research, not legal advice. This answer has the scope and review date shown above; your institution decides applicability.