Page 36 - SAMENA Trends - January 2021

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Grants Zain Fintech Subsidiary, ‘Tamam’, First
Consumer Micro-Financing License in Region

Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom less than five minutes through a mobile Bank is a quantum leap for Tamam and
innovator in seven markets across the app. Innovation is key to our ongoing strengthens its position as a leading
Middle East and North Africa announces developments and investing in viable provider of financial technology solutions
that Tamam Financing Company (Tamam), digital services such as the fintech sector locally as well as regionally. Innovation
the financial technology (fintech) is a strategy we have launched a few and investment in digital services, such
subsidiary of its operation in Saudi Arabia years ago with Zain Cash and continue to as fintech, is at the heart of Zain KSA's
has been officially licensed by the Saudi implement across our markets as a critical vision to be the leading provider of digital
Central Bank (SAMA) to provide micro- component to our sustained evolution services in the Kingdom. The company’s
financing services to consumers across and success.” Al-Kharafi continued, “Zain ambition requires us taking advantage of
the Kingdom. This makes Tamam the first KSA’s evolution to becoming a digital new areas of digital growth, playing our
entity in the Kingdom and the region to be lifestyle provider requires us to take bold key contributory role in the Kingdom’s
licensed by a regulator to offer consumer moves in new digital areas, and we are 2030 Vision.” Al-Deghaither thanked, “His
micro-loans via a fully digital customer pleased at how the Saudi Central Bank Excellency Dr. Ahmad bin Abdulkareem
experience, through a mobile app. The and the Kingdom’s wider community are Al-Kholifey, Governor of the Saudi Central
licensing follows the completion of an extremely receptive to such developments. Bank, and the relevant divisions of the
eighteen-months testing period within We believe the thorough testing achieved establishment, for their proactive efforts
SAMA's Regulatory Sandbox. The rigorous during the eighteen months of trials has to promote innovation in the fintech sector
process saw the app and the service vetted made our platform the most robust of its in the Kingdom. I also thank and recognize
for functionality, security, and compatibility kind, and we look forward to increasing the efforts of the fintech team at Zain
with customer user profiles in Saudi Arabia, the number of consumers benefiting Group, which assisted in realizing this
in line with the Sandbox's guidelines. The from micro-financing services.” Fintech opportunity and scaling it to its current
platform displayed high product viability services remain largely under-penetrated level.” Zain Group’s activities in fintech
and strong demand throughout testing in the Middle East, so the establishment commenced with the award-winning Zain
and obtained PCI-DSS accreditation of the first consumer micro-financing Cash mobile money platform that has
which protects the security of the digital platform in Saudi Arabia represents a facilitated the disbursement of monetary
infrastructure and data. Established in fantastic opportunity for growth. Sultan support through eye scans to vulnerable
2019, Tamam aims to increase financial Al Deghaither, Zain KSA CEO and Tamam individuals by the UNHCR, and it continues
inclusion in the Kingdom in line with Vice-Chairman & MD, commented, "The to expand, impacting people’s lives for the
the Financial Sector Development Plan, license granted to us by the Saudi Central better in Iraq and Jordan.
which forms part of Saudi Arabia's Vision
2030. The platform provides individuals
requiring financing the opportunity to
immediately avail a Shari'a-compliant
consumer micro-finance. The end to-end
Shari'a approved process takes less than
5 minutes from downloading the app to
receiving the financing amount based
on the user credit profile. Commenting
on the licensing of Tamam, Bader Al-
Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group
CEO, Zain KSA Vice-Chairman and Tamam
Chairman said, “We are extremely proud
of the teams at Zain Group, Zain KSA
and Tamam in the successful delivery of
this innovative Shari’a compliant service
that provides consumer micro-finance in

36 JANUARY 2021