Saudi Central Bank Grants First Open Banking License to Lean Technologies
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has issued the Kingdom’s first Major Payment Institution license for Open Banking to Lean Technologies, marking a definitive shift for the country's financial infrastructure from experimental testing to a fully regulated activity. The move officially transitions Open Banking out of the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox, where Lean was an inaugural participant, into a formal licensed framework.
During its tenure in the sandbox, Lean established deep integration within the Saudi financial ecosystem, connecting over 1 million bank accounts and processing more than 1 billion transactions. The provider has already secured partnerships with major regional FIs and fintechs, including Tabby, Tamara, and Abdul Latif Jameel, spanning sectors from BNPL and consumer finance to automotive and government services.
Hisham Al-Falih, CEO and Co-Founder of Lean Technologies, noted that receiving the license validates the firm’s long-standing conviction that regulated access to financial data is the foundation for the next generation of Saudi financial services. He added that the license provides the regulatory standing to extend this infrastructure to thousands of merchants and millions of end users across the Kingdom.
The impact of this infrastructure is already visible in the credit sector. Tamara, a leading BNPL provider, utilized Lean’s data to enhance its underwriting capabilities for non-traditional earners, such as gig workers and freelancers. Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, CEO and Co-Founder of Tamara, explained that the use of verified cash-flow data increased approval rates by more than 32% for their new consumer financing product while maintaining risk standards.
By providing a real-time, verified view of customer affordability, Lean's infrastructure enables FIs to move beyond legacy credit checks that often struggle to assess modern workforces. This shift supports the broader objectives of Vision 2030, establishing a proven Open Banking layer as a core component of the national economy.
