Succeeding in Saudi Arabia's Payments Market: Understand the Local Ecosystem

Quick Summary

What does it take to succeed in Saudi Arabia's payments market? Two G+D leaders answer the same question. Hussam Nasser says the institutions that keep leading are the ones that never stop improving the customer experience, while Bassel El Sabban's advice is simple: understand the local ecosystem before anything else, because imported templates do not work in the Kingdom.

Why won't Hussam Nasser call it advice?

FF News host Ian Horne asked both guests for one piece of advice for banks, fintechs and financial institutions looking to succeed in Saudi Arabia. Hussam Nasser, VP Sales Middle East at G+D, pushed back on the framing. The Kingdom, he says, has some of the most forward-thinking banks, fintechs and financial institutions on a global scale, so rather than advise them he shares an observation. The institutions that continue leading are not necessarily the ones with the highest budget, or the ones with the latest technology. They are the ones who keep asking how to create a better experience for their customers tomorrow than they have today.

What keeps an institution setting the benchmark?

Nasser points to constant change across the industry. Technology evolves, payment methods evolve and cardholder expectations evolve, and none of that stands still in a market moving as quickly as Saudi Arabia. "The institutions that continue listening, innovating and challenging themselves are the ones that will continue setting the benchmark," he says. The implication for newcomers is that a strong launch is not enough. Staying relevant depends on three habits:

• Listening to how customers and expectations are changing.
• Innovating continuously rather than in one-off projects.
• Challenging themselves even when already ahead.

Why must international players understand the local ecosystem first?

Put the same question, Bassel El Sabban, Regional Sales Manager for Saudi Arabia at G+D, gives the shortest and most direct answer of the interview: understand the local ecosystem. Success in the Kingdom is not about what has been implemented in Europe, the USA or anywhere else in the world. "This is a very unique market," he says. Companies should understand the market before anything else, and then keep on innovating, because Saudi Arabia is a market that is leading the innovations rather than following them.

FF NEWS TAKE:

Two answers, one message: Saudi Arabia is not a market to be conquered with a copy-and-paste playbook. Nasser's point about budget is the sharper one, because it tells well-funded international entrants that money alone will not buy relevance. El Sabban's is the practical one. Together they give banks and fintechs heading to Money20/20 Middle East a useful test: if your Saudi strategy looks the same as your European one, it is probably wrong.