Saudi Arabia’s ecommerce sales using Mada cards reached 20.87 billion riyal (US$5.56 billion) in January.

This represents a 44.64% increase compared to the previous year, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). The number of transactions surged by 33.65% to 111.42 million during the same period.

Mada, Saudi Arabia’s payment network, handles debit and prepaid card transactions but excludes Visa and Mastercard payments.

Retail sales at point-of-sale terminals reached 58.21 billion riyal (US$15.5 billion) in January, an 8.19% increase, with more transactions across sectors.

Restaurants, cafes, and food outlets led retail spending, while jewelry sales saw the highest growth, rising 24.71% to 1.19 billion riyal (US$317 million).