The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has introduced “Naqd,” a government banking services platform. Naqd enables government agencies to conveniently access their accounts at the central bank and securely conduct financial transactions on a digital platform.
This initiative is part of SAMA’s strategy to provide banking services to government agencies and support digital development. Naqd aims to digitize the financial operations of government agencies on their SAMA accounts through a unified and secure digital platform.
The platform facilitates real-time access to account information, account management, and instant monitoring of transactions to and from government agencies’ accounts. Naqd offers electronic banking services that support government financial transactions, improve the user experience, enhance efficiency and productivity using the latest technologies, and reduce the time required to complete government banking procedures.
Saudi Arabia dominates MENA venture capital funding in H1 2024
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of venture capital (VC) funding in the first half of 2024, witnessing a total deployment of SAR1.5 billion ($412 million).
MAGNiTT and SVC’s latest “2024-H1 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Report” revealed that Saudi Arabia attracted the highest share of total venture capital funding in the MENA region in H1 of 2024. The Kingdom further accounts for 54 percent of the region’s investments, a significant increase from its 38 percent share in 2023.
In H1 of 2024, the e-commerce and retail sector attracted the highest amount of venture capital funding. Additionally, they accounted for 52 percent of total Saudi Arabia’s funding, or $215 million. Meanwhile, fintech continued to lead the total number of deals, capturing 14 percent of deals in H1 of 2024.
Moreover, Saudi banks’ aggregate profit reached a 14-month high of SAR7.33 billion ($1.95 billion) in May, marking a 16 percent annual increase.
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