There’s been a flurry of digital payments news this week from Saudi Arabia involving a wide variety of major names in the market, notably Ant International, Google Pay and Thunes.
Most recently, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider, have said they will launch cross-border QR code payments between Saudi Arabia’s national payment scheme mada, and Ant International’s global wallet gateway Alipay+ during 2026 to drive digitisation and inclusive growth for local merchants, supporting the economic diversification goals of the country’s Vision 2030 programme – and notably its aims to boost digital payments and Saudi Arabia’s status as a global tourism hub.
Through this collaboration, local merchants in Saudi Arabia, including SMEs, will be able to accept cross-border QR payments from Alipay+ international payment partners. Alipay+ says it currently connects more than 1.7 billion user accounts across 36 partners to more than 100 million merchants in 70 markets.
A related story notes that SAMA has partnered with tech giants Google Pay and Ant International to bolster digital payment infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Again, the collaboration aligns with the nation’s Vision 2030 objectives, aiming to advance financial technology and inclusion through the adoption of payment solutions.
In particular SAMA has announced the integration of Google Pay via the mada national payment system. The service allows users to manage their mada and digital credit cards through Google Wallet.
Meanwhile Thunes, a company that calls itself “the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world”, and barq, a rapidly growing digital wallet in Saudi Arabia, have announced the launch of barq’s enhanced remittance services to millions of consumers across the Kingdom.
Through Thunes’ Direct Global Network, barq customers can now send money seamlessly across borders, with transactions delivered in real time to billions of mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide. The Saudi Arabian remittance market is said to be one of the largest in the world.
This deal, barq says, reinforces its position as a leading mobile wallet in Saudi Arabia, offering international remittances, cards, and a wide range of innovative financial solutions to end users.
The launch follows the formation of the collaboration between Thunes and barq announced in 2024, focused on delivering growth, expanded reach, and a consistently trusted service to Saudi customers.
