RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has officially announced the launch of Google Pay in the Kingdom through its national payment system, Mada.
Google Pay was launched by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the announcement was made during the Money 20/20 Middle East Conference and Exhibition held in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.
Google Pay allows users to make secure payments using ‘Tap to Pay’ for seamless payments in stores, and soon in apps and on the web.
It also enables them to easily add and manage their mada cards and credit cards like Visa and Mastercard within the Google Wallet application.
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With Google Pay, users can make safer payments with multiple layers of security. This includes industry-standard tokenization, which means when they use Google Pay to pay, transactions are made using a virtual card number (a token).
This token is device-specific and is associated with a dynamic security code that changes with each transaction.
SAMA emphasized that the introduction of Google Pay is part of ongoing efforts to meet the needs of the Saudi market and enhance the digital payment experience across the Kingdom.