RIYADH — The new Financial Institutions Services Tariff Guide introduced by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) will come into effect on Friday, February 20th.
The new fee guide, which replaces the current banking tariffs, sets out significant reductions and caps on customer fees across banking, financial and payment services, as part of SAMA’s regulatory role to strengthen transparency and consumer protection.
The revised fees will apply to all financial institutions supervised by SAMA, including banks and payment companies. Financial institutions are prohibited from charging fees that exceed the basic transaction and service fee caps set out in the new fee guide.
The new guide has been introduced as part of SAMA’s regulatory role to strengthen transparency and consumer protection, with a focus on fairness, transparency and digital services.
The central bank said the updated guide aims to promote reasonable and fair pricing, enhance disclosure and transparency, and support financial inclusion by enabling broader access to financial services at regulated cost levels. The guide also encourages the use of electronic channels, in line with the digital transformation underway across the sector.
SAMA emphasized the need for financial institutions to comply with caps on fees and clarified that these fees do not include value added tax (VAT) on regulated services.
According to the latest guide, financial institutions are required to disclose all fees and use all methods to ensure clarity for customers when providing services and products. Additionally, you must obtain customer consent in advance through established channels for all fees and charges related to the services or products provided, and immediately notify customers via SMS of any charges deducted or issued.
The central bank warned customers that banks are not allowed to charge fees for the presence or absence of funds in bank accounts or electronic wallets, or to charge customers for additional costs related to third parties after the provision of goods or services.
The guidelines included several fee amendments, including reductions in maximum fees for various services. These reductions include administrative fees related to certain financial products, reissuance of Mada cards, fees for purchases and cash withdrawals abroad, transfers from bank accounts and e-wallets, and fees for using Mada cards at point-of-sale terminals within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) network.
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