The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has amended the framework of its Regulatory Sandbox, making it an on-tap window instead of the existing cohort-based one.
SAMA launched the Regulatory Sandbox initiative in 2018 to encourage participation of local, regional and international fintech institutions and companies seeking to provide their innovative financial products and services to the Saudi market.
SAMA said the amended framework would allow applicants to apply to the Regulatory Sandbox when they are ready with their proposed business models and concepts, instead of the current procedure to work to a specific one determined for the cohort.
“The key differentiator of the updated framework is to move from a cohort-based approach to an ‘always open’ approach which will give greater flexibility to those applying,” it said.
The central bank said the updated framework of the Regulatory Sandbox was open for both local and international applicants to apply – whether they be entrepreneurs, non-regulated companies or existing regulated entities.
SAMA, in cooperation with Saudi Fintech, will hold in the coming days, an introductory workshop on the updated regulatory framework for the legislative experimental environment.
The regulatory Sandbox initiative proved to be very successful as it enabled SAMA to adopt many services and products by issuing instructions and regulations.
It also helped it to launch many of those products and services to the clients within the financial sector by capitalizing on the experiences of Regulatory Sandbox certified companies.
There are as many as 38 Sandbox certified companies in the country currently.
The step was taken as part of SAMA’s efforts to achieve several national strategic goals through the promotion of the Regulatory Sandbox’s involvement in the financial sector development program (FSDP), a key objective of the Saudi Vision 2030.
Follow us on
