Saudi Arabia’s central bank has licensed Madark Solutions for Financing to offer buy-now-pay-later services, expanding the regulated finance market as demand grows for digital credit products tied to education, retail payments and household spending.The approval brings the number of finance companies licensed by the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, to 74, marking another step in the Kingdom’s effort to channel fast-growing fintech activity into a supervised framework. The regulator announced the licence on 10 May, placing Madark under rules that govern BNPL providers, consumer protection, credit checks, disclosure standards and operational controls.
Madark, headquartered in Riyadh, positions itself as an education-focused BNPL platform. Its model links parents and students with schools, universities, colleges, institutes and other education providers, allowing tuition and related fees to be paid through instalments. The company promotes its offer as “Study Now, Pay Later”, with interest-free instalment plans designed to reduce upfront education costs and improve fee collection for institutions.
The licence is significant because Saudi Arabia’s BNPL market has moved beyond conventional retail checkouts into specialised verticals such as education, healthcare, travel and services. Education finance is a particularly sensitive area because household cash-flow pressures can affect school enrolment decisions, while institutions face their own need for predictable fee collection. A regulated BNPL model offers convenience, but it also places greater responsibility on providers to assess affordability and prevent overextension.
SAMA’s BNPL rules define the activity as financing that allows consumers to buy goods or services without a term cost payable by the consumer. Companies must be licensed before offering such services and are required to operate as joint stock companies with minimum capital of SAR5 million, unless the regulator decides otherwise. Licences are valid for five years and can be renewed, subject to regulatory approval.
The rules require providers to verify consumers’ identities, assess repayment capacity, document credit records with consent and register credit information with licensed credit bureaus. They also require clear contracts, complaint-handling procedures, data confidentiality, information-security controls and compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations. The framework bars transactions with consumers below 18 Hijri years and places restrictions on foreign consumers who are not residents of Saudi Arabia unless SAMA grants written non-objection.
Consumer safeguards are central to the regime. BNPL companies may not charge consumer fees, including those owed to the company, contracted stores or third parties, except for permitted delay penalties or debt-collection charges under applicable rules. The total outstanding financing for each natural-person consumer is capped at SAR10,000, while instalments may not exceed 12. Collection must be conducted through electronic channels, with cash requests prohibited.
The licensing of Madark also reflects wider momentum in Saudi Arabia’s digital finance sector. Electronic payments accounted for 85 per cent of total retail payments in 2025, up from 79 per cent in 2024, with electronic transactions rising to 14.6 billion from 12.6 billion. That shift has created a larger base for digital lending, wallet services, open banking, embedded finance and point-of-sale credit.
Fintech growth has become a core component of the Financial Sector Development Programme under Vision 2030. The number of fintech companies in Saudi Arabia rose from 20 in 2019 to 301 in 2025, moving the Kingdom toward its target of 525 fintech companies by 2030. Regulatory approvals for finance, payments, open banking and microfinance providers have accelerated as authorities seek to deepen financial inclusion while maintaining market discipline.
Madark joins a sector shaped by larger BNPL and consumer-finance names such as Tamara, Tabby and other licensed providers that have expanded flexible payment options across retail and e-commerce. The entry of an education-focused player may broaden competition, but it also raises questions about how affordability assessments will be applied to tuition-linked instalments, where the underlying purchase is not discretionary in the same way as fashion, electronics or travel.
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