Saudi Arabia has awarded its initial Major Payment Institution (MPI) license to Lean Technologies. This step represents a major achievement for the country as it seeks to establish and expand its open banking operations.
Lean Technologies received a license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) which enables the company to provide complete open banking services that permit its transition from testing controlled environments to operating in licensed commercial environments.
Lean had previously participated in SAMA's regulatory sandbox, which allows fintech companies to test their new financial solutions under official supervision. The company established connections with more than one million bank accounts. The company has also executed more than one billion transactions, which demonstrates strong adoption of its system.
The move is a critical development for Saudi Arabia's financial system, as it signals that regulators will allow financial institutions to use open banking technology. Open banking enables secure, consent-based sharing of financial data between institutions. This eventually allows firms to develop services that provide faster lending and better credit assessment, and seamless payment systems.
Lean Technologies has formed partnerships with major regional organizations, which include buy-now-pay-later companies and financial institutions. The aim is to develop data-based financial services. The partnerships between the companies extend across various industries, which include consumer finance, automotive services and investment platforms, because fintech infrastructure has become essential to the Kingdom's expanding operations.
Chief executive Hisham Al-Falih described the licence as a validation of the company’s long-term vision to make regulated financial data access a core component of Saudi Arabia’s digital economy. The new authorisation allows Lean to provide its services to thousands of merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises and millions of users throughout the country.
The development supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to modernize its financial sector under Vision 2030, as the Kingdom aims to become a regional center for fintech innovation and digital payments.