Saudi central bank sets the trend in using blockchain

The Saudi Central Bank is giving the lead in making use of blockchain technology for various banking applications:

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The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) had recently made use of blockchain technology to deposit 50 billion Saudi rials into the banking system in the country as part of liquidity package. This signified the central bank’s confidence in the technology and the maturing of a blockchain based system in the kingdom for monetary transactions. SAMA has been in the forefront in experimenting with newer technologies for the financial services and among its recent initiatives are the Fintech Saudi Initiative in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the introduction of the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox, and an array of digital banking services and payments.

PART OF VISION 2030

Saudi Arabia has been using blockchain technology since 2019. The Saudi British Bank (SABB) and HSBC had used the technology to execute a trade transaction involving a shipment of homogenized aluminum billets from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Customs Authority had also experimented with the technology in early 2019 to facilitate cross-border trade. These initiatives were part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy, aiming to accelerate economic diversification and modernization through the adoption of new digital technologies.