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The Saudi Central Bank announced on September 17 that Tap to Pay on iPhone would soon become available in Saudi Arabia. SAMA made the announcement during Money20/20 Middle East, held in Riyadh from September 14 to 16. The planned service allows merchants to accept payments directly on compatible iPhones using near-field communication technology.
According to SAMA, customers will be able to tap mada cards, other contactless-enabled cards and digital wallets near a merchant’s iPhone. The announcement does not give a launch date or identify a specific rollout schedule. SAMA said the service would add to the country’s digital-payment infrastructure, including its national payment system and the SoftPOS service introduced in 2021, while meeting local technical requirements.