ع
The Saudi Central Bank issued its latest weekly report showing point-of-sale transactions across the kingdom reached SR14.60 billion between August 2 and 8. That total reflected a decline from the SR16.31 billion recorded in the previous seven-day period. SAMA data further indicated that the number of transactions decreased 5.1 percent to 253.42 million from 267.11 million, illustrating a broad softening in consumer activity that week.
SAMA figures placed food and beverage spending at SR2.28 billion across 58.41 million transactions while restaurants and cafes generated SR1.9 billion through 61.23 million operations. Clothing and accessories contributed SR1.26 billion from 10.81 million transactions with transportation adding SR1.09 billion via 7.29 million uses. Fuel stations accounted for SR1.03 billion from 17.82 million transactions according to the same central bank breakdown.
Riyadh recorded SR4.88 billion in POS activity through 80.36 million transactions representing a 6.7 percent drop from the preceding week in SAMA’s geographic data. Jeddah followed with SR1.98 billion across 28.4 million transactions that fell 9.3 percent over the same interval. The central bank’s city-level statistics highlight how the weekly contraction varied across major urban centers.
The Saudi Central Bank has published these weekly POS updates for years to monitor shifts in electronic payment usage throughout the economy. SAMA’s regular releases capture transaction volumes and values by both sector and location providing consistent snapshots of consumer behavior. Such reporting supports ongoing policy efforts to expand digital infrastructure under national economic initiatives.
A Financial Sector Development Program assessment under Saudi Vision 2030 found that non-cash payments reached 79 percent of consumer-initiated transactions by volume in recent years exceeding the original 2025 target. The program has overseen growth in POS terminals to roughly 2 million by the end of 2024 according to multiple industry reviews. Card transactions at point-of-sale locations have risen more than thirtyfold since 2014 with 96 percent now completed contactlessly.
MarkNtel Advisors placed the Saudi cards and payments market at $335 billion in 2025 with forecasts for expansion to $498 billion by 2032 at a compound annual growth rate near 6 percent. The consultancy noted that POS infrastructure now supports more than 8 billion annual Mada transactions reflecting deep penetration across retail hospitality and government services. IMARC Group separately projected the broader digital payments sector to grow at 13.62 percent annually through 2034 reaching $4.2 billion in value.
