Al Jasir:
"The new system uses advanced electronic payment technologies and is available in all national banks".

SAMA Vice Governor Dr. Mohamed Bin Suliman Al Jasir, held a press conference in SAMA announcing SADAD Launching on June 26, 2007. During the conference Dr. Al Jasir said: "Our vision in the agency was focused on finding a technological solution that would enable us to develop a system which would facilitate electronic bill payment by utilizing the most advanced technology available. It was on this basis that SADAD was developed to provide a trusted method of payment between banks and other sectors, giving the Kingdom's citizens and residents a time-saving, accurate and proof positive method of paying their bills."

Dr. Al Jasir went on to say, "SAMA is committed to continuously enhancing the Kingdom's financial services, developing electronic services that increase the effectiveness of economic activities, and making a significant contribution to the successful progress of e-government." 

Referring to SADAD's operational effectiveness, Dr. Al Jasir said "We expect that the system will attain unprecedented performance levels because of its handling capability, which reached more than a million processes during the testing period, and we further expect that number to be doubled in the next few months."

Commenting on the success of electronic payment systems, Dr. Al Jasir said that payment habits have already changed significantly. As early as 2003 the percentage of people paying their bills through banks went down from 66 percent, accounting for 10 percent of total processes. Today, 40 percent of bills are paid through ATMs, 33 percent by telephone, and 16 percent via the Internet.

Also present at the inaugural event was Eng. Abdulmalik Al Shaikh, Director of the Banking Technologies Department in SAMA, who said "As of now, 17 government and non-governmental bodies are linked with SADAD system, including STC, the Saudi Electricity Company, the Ministry of Water and Electricity, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), the Marafiq Company, NCCI, and other entities, thus integrating all these bodies into the Kingdom's banking sector."

Eng Al Shaikh went on to note that SADAD will make an important contribution to the growth of all commercial operations in the Kingdom that rely on communications technologies for efficient business operations

In summary, SAMA considers SADAD as one of the most important developments in recent years, coming at a time when the Kingdom's rapid population growth and increasing prosperity calls for ever more efficient and user-friendly electronic payment services.