Saudi Arabia seeks to establish a low-cost digital central bank that simulates digital operations, provided that it has real financial liquidity retained, said the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, Fahd Al-Mubarak.
Al-Mubarak also added, during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Saudi Arabia, that the kingdom will work on an experiment to launch a huge project with the UAE in this regard during the coming period.
He explained that the current virtual currencies “pose a risk with their suspicious transactions and the lack of a guarantor for them.”
In 2019, the Saudi Central Bank and its UAE counterpart launched a project to issue a common digital currency, which was used experimentally between the two countries in financial settlements through blockchain technologies.
In a related context, the digital transformation of banking transactions and even the entities themselves has become one of the priorities of the banking industry around the world, as part of efforts to transform payment systems between borders into digital transactions.
Last June, the Saudi government authorized two digital banking licenses: STC Bank and the Saudi Digital Bank. Both are under formation.
At the time, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the approval came within the objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program, which is part of a huge economic reform plan known as the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 seeks to exploit the strengths that characterize the Kingdom from a distinguished strategic location, a pioneering investment power, and Arab and Islamic depth, where the leadership pays all attention to that, and harnesses all capabilities to achieve ambitions.
During the past five years, many achievements were made, and a number of transformation possibilities crystallized, which contributed to achieving tangible results, at the level of government work, the economy and society, and laid the foundations for success for the future.
The Saudi government has also faced many challenges, through which it has gained a lot of experiences that have enhanced confidence in achieving the existing goals.
It has worked to increase government effectiveness and responsiveness, by investing in government digital transformation, creating opportunities for growth and investment, and creating a number of new economic sectors.
