Market trends
371 fintech companies: where Saudi fintech stands in 2026
The central bank governor gave the number in September 2026. Behind it: 85% of retail payments now electronic, and open banking licensing that actually started this year.
Dynamics team Editorial desk 2 min read Market trends
At Money20/20 Middle East, held in Riyadh between 14 and 16 September 2026, Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman Al-Sayari said the number of fintech companies in the Kingdom had reached 371 by the end of August 2026.
The figure is striking on its own. What makes it more telling is the pace of getting there.
The pace
The count was 301 in May 2026. The sector added 70 companies in three months — close to 23% in a single quarter.
The National Fintech Strategy targets 525 active companies by 2030. At the current rate, a target set for four years out looks near, which raises a fair question: is the number of companies the right measure in the first place?
What a company count measures
A company count is a signal about entry into a market, not about its size. A newly licensed firm and one processing millions of transactions a day each count as one.
The better indicator of adoption is this: electronic payments reached 85% of all retail payment transactions by the end of 2025. That describes the actual behaviour of millions of people, not a tally of registered entities.
Investment
Total investment in the sector passed SAR 30 billion by the end of the first half of 2026, driven by venture capital and strategic financing.
Open banking left the sandbox
The most consequential regulatory development this year is quieter than the numbers: in March 2026 the central bank announced it had begun licensing fintech companies to provide open banking services, after they completed testing in the regulatory sandbox.
Open banking means a customer can share their financial data — with their consent — with entities supervised by the central bank, so products can be built on their actual position rather than on what they declare.
Why does that matter to a small business? Because the standing obstacle to small-ticket financing is proving cash flow. Once a bank statement can be shared programmatically and with the owner's consent, what a lender can see before deciding changes.
Reading these figures carefully
- A company count is not revenue. Nothing in these numbers says what these companies earn, or how many of them earn anything.
- The category is broad. "Fintech" covers payments, lending, insurtech and savings tools — markets that differ enormously in size and cycle.
- Licensing has stages. There is a substantial regulatory difference between testing in a sandbox and holding a full licence, and a headline total does not separate them.
Sources
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