Description of the Competitive Landscape of the Payment Business in Saudi Arabia, the Different Type of Payments Both Local (Saudi Arabia) and Cross-Border
Despite being relatively new, the current payment business landscape of the KSA has developed quite noticeable competition within it. Specifically, Sadad has already become an indisputable industry leader, capturing the KSA economic environment and encompassing the entire market (‘Changing trends in payment solutions,’ 2021). Remarkably, the KSA setting features quite a number of payment options, including both local and cross-border ones. Currently, the KSA setting includes around 2,000 local payment systems (‘Changing trends in payment solutions,’ 2021). The described number is expected to grow despite the dense competition in the market since the specified environment is presently defined as very lucrative.
Examining the strengths that data has ben demonstrating over the past couple of years in the payment system market and, particularly, in its fintech department, one must note the company’s intention to transition the KSA to its concept of cashless society (‘Changing trends in payment solutions,’ 2021). The described idea appears to be one of the primary competitive advantages that Sadad can currently boast. Thus, to succeed in the KSA fintech payment systems market, the organization will need to focus on infiltrating the specified domain and offering a unique opportunity that Sadad has not considered presently. Specifically, the focus on developing digital applications that would facilitate faster and more comfortable use should be recognized as the priority for the organization. In addition, it should be kept in mind that the KSA has launched the GCC RTGS system as the means of controlling its cross-border transactions. As the title suggests, the current system has only been applied to the GCC environment. As for securing digital transactions between the KSA and European countries or the U.S., the AFAQ framework has been deployed (‘GPC launches ‘AFAQ’ for secure cross-border transactions across GCC’, 2021). The AFAQ model was expected to assist in managing key processes associated with payment transfer within minutes.
Exploration of the Evolution through Fintech and Paytech in the Local Market Compared to External Other Countries
Overall, the evolution made by the KSA in its endeavors at adjusting to the global digital payment standards is quite impressive and worth making an example of the transformation that the KSA payment system has experienced through fintech and Paytech could be descried as the prolonged process of digitalization launched across financial departments of companies in the KSA statewide. Specifically, one should credit the KSA financial environment to prompt the development of the financial ecosystem in which the inclusion of digital tools and the transfer of the financial processes in the digital context became possible.
As a result, the KSA digital payment setting has been effectively transformed to become an innovative fintech hub. Specifically, the current KSA setting has undergone the transformation that involved the acceptance of the iGTB framework (‘New GCC RTGS system for cross-border payments to go live by February 2020,’ 2019). In turn, the latter implied partnering with the company of the same title to build a digital banking platform that has allowed unifying and streamlining key financial processes across the entire KSA banking system (‘New GCC RTGS system for cross-border payments to go live by February 2020,’ 2019). Therefore, the transformation that the KSA fintech setting has seen includes the integration of digital payment options, their expansion, and their further merging with the KSA banking system to ensure that the digital payment tools are firmly incorporated into the KSA financial framework.
Compared to other countries, the current state of the Fintech and Paytech systems development in the KSA could be defined as moderately advanced. Although the described innovation is a very recent development that still requires thorough control and careful observations, it has already advanced to a rather impressive stage. For example, compared to the present-day U.S. digital payment systems, the ones observed in the KSA can be considered quite effective. Although the U.S. setting can boast a broader extent of digital payment options, it lacks the control and consistency that the KSA fintech context shows (‘iGTB expands its footprint in Saudi Arabia, partnering with Samba Financial Group to offer its Digital Transaction Banking platform,’ 2020). Similarly, the UK digital payment framework could use additional adjustments. The presence of multiple digital applications and other tools for facilitating the use of said payment system sis one of the advantages that the European and American digital payment markets have over the KSA one (‘iGTB expands its footprint in Saudi Arabia, partnering with Samba Financial Group to offer its Digital Transaction Banking platform,’ 2020). However, the fintech and Paytech environment of the KSA are likely to address the specified concern soon.
The Fintech and Paytech Environment Globally and in Saudi Arabia
Considering the effect of Fintech and Paytech on a global scale, one should mention that the influence of both has been increasing rapidly. Indeed, reports assert that the realm of fintech and Paytech has been expanded globally, causing mot countries to accept digital payment as the main method u performing transactions in the business context. Specifically most organizations in the specified countries perform key transactions, such as paying salaries to staff members investing, and receiving funds from respective resources by means of digital payment systems (‘iGTB expands its footprint in Saudi Arabia, partnering with Samba Financial Group to offer its Digital Transaction Banking platform,’ 2020). Therefore, although the current state of global fintech and Paytech areas’ development appears to be more advanced than that one of KSA, Saudi Arabia has the potential to improve the situation and introduce innovative fintech and Paytech options for managing digital transaction. For example, developing applications that allow navigating between several payment systems and selecting an appropriate one could be considered a substantial improvement.
Reference List
‘GPC launches ‘AFAQ’ for secure cross-border transactions across GCC’ (2021) Arab News. Web.
‘Changing trends in payment solutions’ (2021) Gulf Insider. Web.
‘New GCC RTGS system for cross-border payments to go live by February 2020’ (2019). Web.
‘iGTB expands its footprint in Saudi Arabia, partnering with Samba Financial Group to offer its Digital Transaction Banking platform’ (2020) Fintech. Web.