SAMA BNPL Rules: What Saudi Merchants Need to Know

Saudi Arabia regulates buy now, pay later (BNPL) more tightly than almost anywhere. That's good news for your store.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) writes its rules for BNPL companies, not merchants. But a handful of them land on you through your provider contract.

Get those right and BNPL becomes a low-risk way to lift basket sizes. The provider pays you upfront and carries the credit risk.

Here's what the rules say, what they mean at your checkout, and a checklist to work through before you go live.

Why these rules help you sell

Strict rules sound like a burden. Here, they work in your favour:

• Shoppers trust it. Licensed providers, no interest and no hidden fees make BNPL an easy yes at checkout.
• You don't carry the risk. The provider pays you upfront and chases the instalments.
• Bigger baskets fit. SAMA doubled the per-shopper cap in December 2025, so big-ticket items pass more often.
• The market is growing. Saudi BNPL is worth about US$5.3 billion in 2026 (Mordor Intelligence), and most of it is spent online.

Fashion and personal care take the biggest share. If that's your category, BNPL belongs at your checkout this season.

Which BNPL companies does SAMA license?

Only SAMA-licensed finance companies may offer BNPL in Saudi Arabia. Each must be a Saudi joint-stock company with at least SAR 5 million in capital.

For you, that's a simple filter. If a provider isn't licensed, it can't legally finance your shoppers.

The market has grown up fast. BNPL ran in SAMA's sandbox from 2020, and the full rulebook followed in 2023.

The authoritative list is SAMA's register of licensed finance companies. Check it before you sign. For a side-by-side of the two leaders, see Tabby vs Tamara.

The rules that touch your store

Most of SAMA's rules cover capital, credit checks and governance. Those are the provider's job.

These are the ones that change how you sell:

The surcharge ban is the one to tape to your monitor. Your provider must monitor your checkout for it and can send you guidelines.

No interest, no late fees: what's the catch?

BNPL in Saudi Arabia has no term cost for the shopper. SAMA's rules ban almost every consumer fee, whether it comes from the provider, the store or anyone else.

The rules once allowed a small admin fee of 1% of the amount, capped at SAR 50. SAMA suspended it in August 2024 (decision of 14/02/1446H), so shoppers pay the item price and nothing else.

The providers went further on late fees. Tamara and Tabby both dropped them on Saudi plans in December 2023, although the rules still allow them. Tabby said the move followed a fatwa from Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Scholars.

So who pays? You do, through the merchant fee.

That's the trade. Shoppers get a plan that fits their values and their budget. You get a payment method that converts and pays you upfront.

How big that fee is, and how to negotiate it, is covered in Tabby and Tamara merchant fees explained.

What you must show on product pages and in ads

SAMA puts disclosure duties on the provider. Shoppers must see the plan terms, instalment amounts and due dates before they agree. That happens inside the provider's checkout, with a pop-up the shopper accepts.

Your job is not to contradict it. In practice, that means:

• Use the provider's own widgets. "4 payments of SAR 150" near the price is the standard message, and it's pre-approved.
• Match the real price. The instalment message must add up to the same total as a card payment.
• Name the provider. SAMA requires BNPL ads to carry the company's name and contact details.
• Don't push debt. SAMA bans ads that encourage credit for unnecessary spending. "Treat yourself now, worry later" is the wrong tone.

Setting up the widget? Our guides to Tabby on Shopify and Tamara on Shopify show where each block goes.

How refunds and cancellations work

SAMA requires the shopper's contract to spell out how cancellations and refunds work and how long they take. The provider writes that contract, not you.

Your part is the process. Refund through your store platform or the provider's dashboard, never as a cash payment to the shopper. The provider then reduces or cancels the remaining instalments.

A few habits keep refunds clean:

• Refund by item, not by editing the order. Edited orders often don't sync to the provider.
• Refund within your published returns window. Your consumer protection duties still apply on top of SAMA's rules.
• Put refund terms in your contract. Article 27 requires your provider agreement to cover consumer protection and dispute resolution.

The SAR 10,000 cap in practice

The cap is per shopper, across every BNPL app combined. It's a ceiling, not a promise. Most shoppers get a lower limit based on their credit record.

For example, a shopper with SAR 7,000 still owed to another app has about SAR 3,000 left. A SAR 4,000 TV in your cart gets declined, even though your store did nothing wrong.

What should you do?

• Keep cards and Apple Pay beside BNPL, so a declined shopper can still pay.
• Add a second or third provider. A shopper's limit with one app may differ from another, within the shared cap.
• Watch decline rates by price band. If expensive items fail often, show the instalment message only where it's likely to pass.

Your SAMA BNPL compliance checklist

Want help choosing a provider? Browse our BNPL providers directory or start at the BNPL hub.

Notes for cross-border and Chinese sellers

• SAR checkout is the gate. Purchases in other currencies, and non-resident shoppers, need SAMA's non-objection. A store priced in USD or CNY can't simply add Saudi BNPL.
• Providers approve the entity, not just the store. Most cross-border sellers reach BNPL through a Saudi or GCC company, or a local merchant-of-record.
• Marketplaces are the shortcut. On noon or Amazon.sa, the marketplace already offers BNPL at its checkout.

See Saudi Arabia payments for how BNPL fits beside mada and COD.

Notes for UAE-based companies

• Different regulator, similar spirit. The UAE central bank (CBUAE) caps BNPL at AED 20,000 or three months' income, over up to 12 months.
• Fees are capped, not banned. UAE providers can charge shoppers fees, including late fees, up to 30% of the credit amount in total.
• Selling into Saudi? Saudi shoppers still fall under SAMA's rules, so the surcharge ban and SAR checkout apply to that storefront.