Saudi Arabia

SAMA, known by the acronym from the early period in its history, is the central bank of Saudi Arabia and functions as the main regulator of the financial sector in the kingdom. Being an autonomous body accountable only to the King of Saudi Arabia, the main duties of SAMA include the issuance of the official currency of Saudi Arabia, which is the Saudi Riyal, regulation of foreign exchange reserves, and maintenance of a fixed exchange rate of the currency with the US dollar. Within its main scope of work, the bank regulates commercial banking, insurance, finance firms, and electronic payments, using advanced fintech systems to facilitate economic objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Saudi Arabian Central Bank ensures financial and monetary stability within the Kingdom through the management of monetary policies, financial institutions, and national payment system infrastructure. It manages the fixed exchange rate of the Saudi Riyal (SAR) in relation to the US Dollar, manages liquidity across the country, and acts as the only custodian of the huge foreign exchange reserves of Saudi Arabia. In order to maintain the overall health of the system, it regulates and audits all the commercial banks, insurance firms, and lending companies in the country. In addition to this, SAMA creates and protects the national electronic backbone payment systems such as Mada and Sarie.