RIYADH: Saudi Arabia issued licenses to 16 fintech companies in the third quarter of 2021, Sabq quoted Saudi Central Bank governor, as saying at an event.

Fahad Almubarak said 13 of those companies work in the field of payments and electronic wallets, and three firms are engaged in insurance and finance sector.

Saudi Arabia witnessed a 37 per cent rise in the number of fintech firms entering the market and also recorded an increase in venture capital investments that exceeded SR680 million ($181 million).

Capital Market Authority chairman Mohammed Elkuwaiz said that the fintech companies develop technical ideas that challenge the current situation, which has an added value because it offers a product that did not exist before, Sabq paper reported.

Fintech in Saudi Arabia has competitive advantages over other countries, and 90 per cent of transactions in the Saudi financial market are automated and have been conducted electronically for more than 10 years, Argaam reported.

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