Payment modernization is a critical component of digital transformation, a trend that continues to gain momentum, globally as well as regionally pushed by business and consumer demand for better and faster payment services. The changing customer behaviour has led to increase in non-cash transactions as well as customers looking for alternative payment methods. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone, non-cash payments are expected to reach US$48.9bn in 2023 according to a study by Statista Market Forecast,with an annual growth rate of 12.5%, resulting in in projected total amount of US$78.4bn by 2027. The Kingdom is also enabling the back-end infrastructure of the evolving payment ecosystem, in alignment with growing digital payment need and the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. It is imperative that financial institutions must work closely with regulatory authorities to provide speedy and efficient payment services and at the same time balance their product proposition as per fast changing payment ecosystem and customer behaviour.

So, how can financial institutions prepare their payment transformation journey and capitalize on the trend towards digital to stay relevant and grow their business by leveraging the regulatory mandates,standardization need and customer demand to their benefit?