Saudi ArabiaWhere digital is a way of life
Saudi Arabia is young, connected and used to doing things from a phone. With near-universal internet access and high smartphone penetration, digital payments have naturally become part of everyday life. Today, Saudi shoppers move between cards, eWallets, real-time payments and BNPL depending on what they’re buying and how they want to pay.
The way locals pay
Local payment methods to know
- Card
Online payments mix eCommerce 2026 projections
An economy in motion
From shopping and streaming to ordering food or calling a ride, paying digitally is already the norm in Saudi Arabia. And that shows in the way people pay online.
Debit cards and eWallets account for over two-thirds of eCommerce volume, at about 38% and 30%, respectively. Debit is projected to gain further ground, reaching 41% by 2028, while wallets are expected to hold steady.
All of this is happening in a growing eCommerce market. Online spending is projected to reach US$ 24.9 billion by 2028, while the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Vision 2030 continue to support the Kingdom’s broader shift towards digital payments and fintech.
For Saudi shoppers, digital is already familiar. What’s changing now is the mix: cards, wallets, BNPL and other ways to pay are finding their place in everyday spending.
- Cross-border eCommerce
- Domestic eCommerce
Cross-border volume stays remarkably consistent, accounting for around half of Saudi eCommerce as the market grows.
mada is the backbone of domestic debit
Debit cards are Saudi Arabia’s largest eCommerce payment method, making up 35% of online volume in 2025. And much of that card activity runs through mada, Saudi Arabia’s national payment network, which processed nearly 9 billion transactions in 2024. This shows a strong preference among consumers for local rails over international cards.
But mada doesn’t always mean pulling out a card. mada Pay now brings that infrastructure into the mobile experience, supporting contactless payments and biometric authentication. For shoppers, the same local card can follow them onto their phone and into more of their everyday purchases.
And there’s more to come. SAMA is developing a new eCommerce Payments Interface designed to bring mada and global payment networks closer together, while making technologies like card tokenization easier to support.
connects the Kingdom’s cards, merchants and digital checkout
Buy Now, Pay Later finds its place
Saudi shoppers are also getting used to paying later. BNPL accounted for almost 8% of eCommerce volume in 2026, worth around US$ 1.58 billion, a large proportion compared to other countries. Tabby and Tamara are the dominant forces in this payment category.
BNPL is not expected to replace cards; instead, it offers shoppers another payment option established alongside their usual methods. For consumers making larger purchases, splitting a payment can offer more flexibility and allow them to access a greater range of goods.
BNPL is a regular choice at checkout
Cash keeps shrinking
Cash hasn’t disappeared from Saudi eCommerce, but shoppers are relying on it less. Cash payments accounted for 11% of eCommerce volume in 2026. By 2028, PCMI projects that share to fall to under 8%.
That is consistent with the Kingdom’s broader shift towards non-cash payments, in line with Vision 2030 objectives. However, cash still has a place in areas like online retail and ride-hailing and delivery, showing that digital adoption has not made cash irrelevant overnight.
The more interesting story now is what is happening around it. As debit cards, wallets and BNPL become increasingly familiar, consumers have more digital options for the same everyday transactions that once relied more heavily on cash.
Saudi Arabia has moved well beyond the early stages of payment digitization. The most interesting transformation in the Kingdom at present is how different payment methods are becoming part of everyday life, with consumers choosing between cards, eWallets, BNPL and even cash depending on what they are buying. The next stage is about making this ecosystem even more connected, intuitive and accessible.