How do people in Saudi Arabia pay online?
mada is the default. The national debit scheme, run under the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), sits on almost every Saudi bank card, and SAMA publishes a monthly series for e-commerce spending with mada cards. In July 2025 that spending reached SAR 29.86 billion across about 149.7 million online transactions, up nearly 80% on a year earlier. A checkout that cannot process mada as mada, rather than forcing the card through an international scheme, loses a large share of Saudi shoppers.
Wallets sit on top of cards. PPRO’s market data put cards at about 42% of e-commerce payments, almost all on mada, and wallets at about 22%. Apple Pay is used heavily with mada cards, and stc pay, the wallet from the STC group, is widely held for transfers and online payments. Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit cards cover international purchases and higher-value baskets, often co-badged with mada on the same card.
Buy now, pay later is mainstream. Tabby and Tamara offer interest-free instalments across fashion, electronics and travel, and many shoppers expect to see one of them at checkout. SADAD, the national bill payment system, is used for government fees, utilities and some e-commerce payments. Overall, SAMA reports that electronic payments reached 85% of retail payments in 2025, up from 79% in 2024, with 14.6 billion electronic transactions during the year.
What rules shape online payments in Saudi Arabia?
The E-Commerce Law sets the consumer rules. Issued by Royal Decree No. M/126 on 10 July 2019, with implementing regulations in force since 31 January 2020, it covers sellers outside the Kingdom that sell to consumers in Saudi Arabia. A consumer may cancel within seven days of receiving a product, or of a service contract, as long as the product or service has not been used, and bears the cost of cancelling unless agreed otherwise. Custom-made goods, downloadable software, publications, and accommodation, transport and catering services are excluded. If delivery is more than 15 days late, the consumer may cancel and claim a refund of the amount paid and any costs caused by the delay.
The implementing regulations also set what an online store must show: contact details, the seller’s name and address, its commercial registration where it has one, a privacy policy and its VAT number where registered. Breaches can bring a warning, a fine of up to SAR 1 million, or a temporary or permanent suspension of e-commerce activity.
VAT applies to foreign digital sellers from the first sale. The standard VAT rate has been 15% since 1 July 2020. A non-resident selling digital services to Saudi consumers has no registration threshold: it registers with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) and charges 15% on business-to-consumer sales.
Data protection is now enforced. The Personal Data Protection Law has been fully enforceable by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) since 14 September 2024, and it applies to organisations outside Saudi Arabia that process the personal data of Saudi residents. Transfers to countries without an adequacy decision need safeguards such as standard contractual clauses, so expect provider onboarding to ask where payment and customer data is stored and processed.
How does Omno route payments in Saudi Arabia?
Omno treats Saudi Arabia as a market where the domestic scheme decides conversion. You connect once and set routing rules per method, card type and customer group:
- mada pay-ins are routed only to providers that process mada natively, so co-badged cards go through the domestic scheme where that gives the best approval and cost.
- International card pay-ins can be routed by BIN to the acquirer your rules set for that issuer, with cascading to the next acquirer in the rule until one accepts.
- stc pay, Apple Pay and Tabby are offered in the hosted checkout and Web SDK, with eligibility rules deciding when BNPL is shown based on basket and customer.
- Payouts follow PSP eligibility rules by method, currency and payout support, so money only goes through providers that support SAR payouts to the recipient’s card or wallet.
Webhooks report the final status of every payment, which is the record your order system should trust for fulfilment. Tokenization supports repeat purchases, and card blocking rules stop known fraudulent cards before they reach an acquirer.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for mada from day one. Make sure your providers process mada as a domestic scheme, including through Apple Pay, and test co-badged cards before launch.
Plan for BNPL. Tabby and Tamara have their own approval decisions, so a BNPL decline should lead to a card or wallet option, not a lost order.
Plan for refunds and delivery dates. The seven-day cancellation right and the 15-day late delivery rule apply to online orders, and Saudi shoppers expect refunds to return to the original card or wallet, so check that each route supports refunds before you send volume to it.
Plan for Arabic, VAT and reconciliation. Prices in SAR, Arabic checkout text and clear VAT-inclusive pricing all affect conversion. Digital service sellers should register for VAT before the first sale, and the routing-decision log in Omno helps reconcile SAR settlements and fees by route.