Mastering payments in Saudi Arabia’s digital economy

Saudi Arabia is seeing an explosion in online shopping, creating new opportunities for tech-forward merchants to reach customers on digital platforms. With a population of over 37.5 million, and a government target to achieve 80% cashless payments by 2030, Saudi Arabia is investing in its digital economy. As a result, online payments are becoming a more important focus for businesses. 

Our new report, MENA Digital Commerce 2026: The new era of AI in payments, finds Saudi consumers are shopping online more often, relying more on digital wallets, and making choices shaped by AI. Security is becoming more central to revenue, as customers abandon carts when payment safety is in doubt.

Key digital commerce trends in Saudi Arabia

According to our research:

• 67% of Saudi consumers anticipate they will shop online more often over the next year
• 50% of the Saudi population shops online at least once a week
• Half (51%) of shoppers in Saudi Arabia compare prices on their phone while shopping in-store
• Saudi Arabia has seen close to a 300% surge in people shopping online daily since 2020 – one in five (22%) of consumers are doing so in 2026 

Saudi consumers are increasingly managing money via their smartphone – making purchases with digital wallets (79%), using insurance or pension management apps (73%), transferring money to friends and family via digital wallets (86%), and using investment or wealth management apps (63%). 

Saudi consumers are shopping online more frequently over the past five years, and increasingly prefer to pay with mada or global digital wallets rather than cash-on-delivery. Consumers in KSA are becoming more tech-savvy and security-conscious, particularly as AI gives rise to new opportunities and challenges around personal data.

Security is increasingly connected to customer loyalty and revenue

• One in three (31%) said uncertainty about online payment safety could harm trust
• 31% of KSA consumers have been a victim of online fraud in the past 12 months

Payment security is becoming a bigger priority. One in four (27%) of shoppers in Saudi Arabia have abandoned checkouts due to security concerns in 2026, compared with 24% in 2025. This shows the direct connection between strong security measures and revenue: customers who can’t trust you won’t pay you.

This year, more Saudi consumers said uncertainty about the safety of the payment process could erode their trust and loyalty when paying for a product or service online in 2026 (31%), than in 2025 (28%). This indicates the long-term impact of poor online security practices: your customers may not come back to your brand in future.

There are real reasons to hesitate. According to our research, consumers in Saudi Arabia are more likely to have been a victim of online fraud in the past year (31%) than anywhere else in MENA (the regional average is 27%).

Reducing cart abandonment

At 93%, the cart abandonment rate for online shopping in the Middle East and Africa region is higher than anywhere else in the world. That means it’s more crucial to focus on customer conversion – turning browsers into buyers – in Saudi Arabia than in any other global region.

So why are Saudi shoppers leaving their baskets? Our latest report found:

• 57% of consumers in KSA would go to a competitor site or abandon an online purchase if their payment was declined despite having funds in their account
• 25% of Saudi adults often abandon purchases when asked for a one-time password
• A quarter (27%) have abandoned online checkouts due to security concerns

We can see from these stats that checkout security is a big hurdle for consumers. If you want to nudge your customers towards spending, you need to convince them their data is safe. 

More than this, though, you must provide a convenient way to buy from your app or website. These days, 96% of consumers in Saudi Arabia believe it’s important for payments to happen in the background with minimal visible steps (for example, fewer screens and prompts) when making a purchase online. This shows the importance of achieving the difficult balance of convenient payments that meet high security standards – something your payment services provider should help you to achieve.

Hamdi Missaoui, CCO and Co-Founder, webook.com shared: “At webook.com, we saw that consumer expectations have shifted dramatically towards frictionless convenience. Especially in the last few years, the decision time span has shortened to a few seconds. If you don't catch them, they're gone.” He also mentioned that the range of payment methods your business offers can contribute to earning customer trust.

You can explore options for authentication using biometrics such as a fingerprint or face scan to ensure customers can buy from you easily.

Offering the right payment methods 

The number of different online payment methods is increasing, and consumers in Saudi Arabia are shifting towards regular use of digital wallets. As a highly diverse nation, the “average” consumer is hard to identify, and could be visiting or temporarily living in Saudi Arabia, having travelled from any nation in the world. This means you should support global digital wallets such as Apple Pay, as well as local ones such as STC Pay.

Our latest research found:

• 65% of adults in KSA use digital wallets for buying things, budgeting, and managing finances monthly or more often
• One in three (36%) of consumers in KSA said being able to use their preferred payment method is a top priority when buying online
• A quarter (25%) of adults in Saudi Arabia said being unable to pay with their preferred payment method could erode their trust and loyalty in an online merchant

With the possibility of false declines and a lack of preferred payment options, the payment page can contribute cart abandonment more than you might think.

Apple Pay – launched in Saudi Arabia in 2019 – was a catalyst for consumers’ desire for more digital payment options. Following in its footsteps are Samsung Pay, which began in December 2024, and Google Pay, which was introduced to the Kingdom in 2025 and expanded to online payments in 2026.

Additionally, there is increasing demand for buy now, pay later (BNPL) choices at checkout. Beyond the major players Tamara and Tabby, further local BNPL players are emerging, such as Madfu, which can offer a more customized experience for shoppers.

Embracing AI and social media to reach tech-savvy consumers

• One in four (26%) Saudis shop on platforms like TikTok or Instagram
• AI-driven features impacted 32% of Saudi adults’ choice of online travel merchant
• One quarter (27%) of consumers in KSA would let an AI agent buy clothes for them 

Basem Alsallom, CEO, Solutions Valley (a Saudi Electricity subsidiary) and Board Member of several fintech companies shared: “Each generation wants to find information in their own way. Usually I would search on Google for something, but my daughter will search on TikTok because it’s quicker and easier for her.” As technology advances, merchants cannot take for granted that shopping looks the same in 2026 as it did in 2020, or even 2024. 

Artificial intelligence is already shaping the way consumers buy online across the Middle East and North Africa region – 31% of consumers in MENA say AI search tools are the top driver of their purchasing decisions.

Basem continued: “Recently, AI has been influencing some of our behavior. Instead of comparing products across multiple sites, we let AI do the research for us. Previously, new solutions were focused on being mobile-friendly. Now it’s important to be AI-friendly.”

Agentic commerce, when a customer instructs an AI agent to buy an item or service on their behalf, is an exciting new possibility. Of course, it’s crucial to build trust with your customer when deploying such tech. And consumers are curious to try it out – with 56% of Saudi consumers comfortable with an AI agent completing purchases on their behalf, and 27% willing to let an AI agent buy clothes or groceries for them. 

The challenge with online shopping agents in Saudi Arabia is how to ensure agent-led purchases line up with legal requirements around customer authentication and data security. There is still more work to be done to figure out how to strike the balance between control, fraud protection, and convenience. Network tokens offer a promising potential solution, because they allow for secure payment card data processing that stops hackers accessing sensitive data.

The importance of partnership

When you’re scaling your business into new territories, it makes sense to seek support from partners with existing infrastructure in your target markets. With a well-established presence in the Middle East, Checkout.com is a market leader in payment services in the region. 

When it comes to localization, it takes more than quickly editing your website. To truly reach Saudi customers, you should build a true regional business strategy. This is critical for Hamdi Missaoui, who co-founded webook.com, a global entertainment platform which connects locals with entertainment, clubs, and other cultural experiences.

Considering webook.com’s expansion into over 160 countries, Hamdi reflects on the specific mindset it takes to succeed in Saudi Arabia: “Build with Saudis rather than for Saudis. I advise entrepreneurs starting a business in Saudi or coming from outside to integrate themselves into the culture, understand how things work in Saudi. Get into the communities, hire locally, and partner with people that live the culture, not know about the culture.”

Hamdi added: “Solve for meaning rather than for margins. Saudi consumers are very sensitive, and they are very tech-savvy but they are also purpose-driven. So they tend to engage more with brands that have a purpose beyond just selling something.”

Exceed expectations and set yourself up for success

Selling in Saudi Arabia means engaging with a tech-savvy consumer base. This is the most important takeaway: your customers need convenient, secure, trustworthy payment methods online. Trust is very important to earning revenue and building customer loyalty. You should focus on building this through every interaction point a customer may have with your brand. 

The online checkout is the make-or-break moment of earning revenue – or losing the sale. That’s why it’s so important to focus on the trustworthiness of this final stage in the buying journey.

The key elements to earning customer trust are:

1. Ensuring a secure payment process
2. Offering the right mix of payment methods
3. Providing a smooth digital shopping experience with the right amount of information

There’s a lot to be excited about in this market. Hamdi shared: “If you come with the right attitude, curiosity, humility, the market will open doors that you never thought existed before.”

Partners such as Checkout.com can help you bridge the knowledge and technology gaps you may have. Check out our latest report on digital commerce in MENA to learn more about meeting consumer expectations and capturing revenue.