Saudi Payments has contracted with HPS for the development of a national QR code platform for use by banks, fintechs and merchants across the Kingdom.
Saudi Payments, a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (Sama), says the project will reduce cash dependence and speed the proliferation of mobile payments.
Based on the ISO 20022 messaging standard, the interoperable network will enable merchants, individual customers, and service providers to be linked together to complete payments using the same code regardless of the service provider or scheme.
Merchants will be able to use the QR code to present a request for payment to a consumer, who can use their mobile devices to scan, verify and approve a payment, or reject the request. Multiple payment types are supported, information can both be fixed in a static QR code and used for multiple transactions, or a dynamic QR Code can be used for individual transactions.
The initiative is in line with the Kingdom's 10-years Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), which aims to support digital transformation projects and fulfill aspirations to create a cashless society.