Enhance Electronic Payment

Circular Respected Gentlemen, Peace be upon you, mercy of Allah and His blessings.

As part of the Payment Systems Authority’s strategy and the financial sector development program aimed at enhancing electronic payment and reducing cash transactions, and to support current efforts in addressing the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, and as a continuation of the national program to combat commercial hiding by gradually requiring the retail sector to provide electronic payment methods,

The Program, in cooperation with the Authority, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce, has mandated all grocery stores and supply shops in the Kingdom to provide electronic payment methods starting from 17 Ramadan 1441 AH, corresponding to May 10, 2020.

To ensure the success of efforts to activate this decision and guarantee full readiness to cope with the expected volume of requests, banks, financial institutions, and payment service providers are required to comply with the following:

• Readiness to respond to requests for opening bank accounts and e-wallets for merchants operating in the grocery and supply sector. • Readiness to receive requests for providing electronic payment methods authorized by the Authority (Point-of-Sale "POS" terminals, or Quick Response "QR" codes) and to respond to them through all relevant channels such as branches, the official website, the unified number, and others, to facilitate this requirement for merchants in this sector, and to comply with the regulatory and operational rules for these services. • Compliance, when providing a payment method, with the specific Merchant Category Code designated for this activity, which is: 5411. • Internal briefing of bank and financial institution staff, as well as payment service providers, regarding this decision to ensure their adequate understanding when receiving requests and inquiries in this regard.

For your information, and to act accordingly. Yours sincerely,