Bank AlJazira, a leading shari'ah compliant financial institution in Saudi Arabia, has partnered with JCB International to enable JCB acceptance throughout its POS and ATM network in the kingdom.

 

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan, and JCB Cards are used by more than 140 million cardholders and accepted at about 37 million locations globally. 

 

This partnership will enable Bank AlJazira to accept JCB Cards across their network of POS terminals and ATM terminals deployed throughout the kingdom and also provide greater convenience for JCB's growing cardholders in Islamic markets, said the statement from the Saudi bank.

 

The partnership complements the role of Saudi Payments, the national foundation of digital payments and the developer and operator of the national payment infrastructure in the kingdom, to enhance the financial landscape in the kingdom and enable international payment schemes to operate in the KSA market, it stated.

 

Saudi Payments aims to accelerate the transition to a society less dependent on cash, in line with the Saudi Central Bank's strategy and the aspirations of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) towards achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. 

 

The entity operates under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), offering secure and interoperable digital payment solutions. 

 

The agreement would help add new channels of acceptance for the JCB branded cards in the Saudi market, and will enable visitors to the kingdom from various countries to use their JCB Cards through the POS and ATM network of Bank AlJazira in stores and outlets across the kingdom, said Yuichiro Kadowaki, Director and CEO of JCB Middle East, after signing the deal with Naif Al Abdulkareem, CEO of Bank AlJazira in Riyadh. 

 

"This will help expand our business further in the kingdom. We look forward to this exciting opportunity as it is in line with the Kingdom's enhanced Vision 2030 strategy and the ever-increasing close ties between Saudi Arabia and Japan," stated Kadowaki.

 

On the partnership, Al Abdulkareem said: "JCB is a global payments brand that will add great value in increasing the payments acceptance in Saudi Arabia. In line with Saudi Central Bank strategy and Saudi Payments initiative to achieve 2030 vision, we are pleased to announce our partnership agreement with JCB which will enhance and enrich our business and satisfy the cardholders and merchants by providing our best payments solutions."

 

Abdulaziz Alafaleg, Managing Director of Saudi Payments, said: "Enabling JCB in the Saudi market is a remarkable milestone driven by the strategy of the Saudi Central Bank and helping the achievement of Vision 2030 goals."

 

"As part of our engagement to introduce advanced payment services and features across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and continuous efforts to enhance the ecosystem's competitiveness, the enablement of globally renowned international payment schemes such as JCB to operate in KSA emerges as an important driver to help us reach our endeavors to offer multiple options for the kingdom's residents and visitors," he added.-TradeArabia News Service