Preliminary TAWAL talks, NDA only, no MoU, no financial impact yet.
An NDA is a disclosure obligation, not a deal. Note who ends up owning national infrastructure as these consolidate.
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SAR 4.98 billion to small firms
Financing to micro, small and medium enterprises through the SME Bank's programmes rose 11.4% to SAR 4.98 billion in Q2 2026, from SAR 4.47 billion a year earlier. The cumulative total through indirect lending and the Kafalah guarantee programme reached about SAR 139 billion since 2006, reaching more than 145,000 businesses, and Riyadh region took 44.4% of it.
Since Q2 lending increased to SAR 4.98 billion, the SME product head should focus more on promoting guaranteed loans in regions outside Riyadh, where their share is still low.
SR425 billion in one quarter
Saudi consumer spending rose 6.8% year on year to SR425 billion in Q1 2026, covering point-of-sale transactions, cash withdrawals and e-commerce purchases. Total 2025 spending through official payment channels was SR1.57 trillion. For context in the same report: Q1 GDP grew 3%, non-oil activity 2.9%, inflation ran at 1.8%, and the IMF forecasts 1.7% growth for 2026 and 5.5% for 2027.
SR425 billion in a single quarter, growing nearly 5% faster than prices. The Saudi consumer is contributing more to this economy than the GDP indicates.
Payments players move into lending
SAMA approved raising the capital of GO Money, GO Telecom's wholly owned subsidiary, from SAR 20 million to SAR 138 million, with SAR 100 million in new cash from the parent, to support growth of its financing portfolio. The same day, Barq said it became the first digital wallet in the Kingdom to receive SAMA's preliminary approval to add financing to its activities.
Payments opened the door, but lending is where the real profits are. Now that SAMA allows wallet and telecom-backed companies to enter this space, bank digital teams need to decide whether to partner with these players or compete with them directly.
