Saudi Bank Updates Credit Card Rules to Help Customers

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has introduced new rules for how credit cards can be used in Saudi Arabia. These new rules are meant to make things better for customers by lowering extra costs and making everything clearer and easier to understand. The new changes will start working between 30 to 90 days from the announcement.

One of the main updates is that banks must now send a text message (SMS) to customers whenever there is a change in fees. If a customer doesn't agree with the new fees, they have 14 days to cancel their credit card agreement without any penalty.

Also, when people use their credit card to add money to their e-wallet, they won’t be charged any extra fee anymore.

When it comes to taking out cash using a credit card, there are new limits. If someone withdraws less than SR2,500, they will be charged a fee of 3% of the money they took out. If they withdraw SR2,500 or more, the fee will not go above SR75. This is better than before, where the fees could go as high as SR300.

If customers use their card to buy things from another country (international purchases), they will be charged a flat fee of 2% of the total price.

Another good update is that customers can now put extra money into their credit card account (above their credit limit) and take it out whenever they want, without paying extra fees.

SAMA worked together with global payment companies to make credit card services cheaper and to help improve Saudi Arabia's digital payment system. They want to give people and visitors more choices when it comes to how they pay.

To make things clearer for everyone, credit card companies must now send a message right away when any financial activity happens on the account. They must also send regular account statements by SMS. Plus, they should give tools to help customers check their reward points and international fees before making a purchase.

People can also pay their full credit card bill without having to pay any late fee. Credit card companies must give a grace period of at least 25 days for customers to pay.

Lastly, the bank is making all the credit card fee and benefit documents look the same, so it’s easier for people to compare and understand the charges before they sign up for a card.

Earlier, people had to pay SR75 for cash withdrawals under SR5,000, and 3% for bigger amounts, sometimes paying up to SR300. The new system with a SR75 cap on big transactions is much fairer.

For other extra charges, there will be a SR25 fee if someone makes a false complaint about a wrong transaction or asks for another copy of their account statement.