Focused Saudi reporting on AI, regulation, capital and trust — selected for material movement rather than volume.
Saudi ArabiaSDAIA has opened applications for a Personal Data Protection track where companies can test products that process personal data under regulatory supervision. Successful graduates receive a completion certificate and digital badge, making admission, testing and graduation three different regulatory states.
Saudi fintech erad has raised a $22 million Series A after reporting more than SAR500 million in cumulative SME financing and over SAR4 billion in financing requests. The gap between those two figures helps explain why investors are backing further expansion.
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia's Transport General Authority is consulting on amendments that would allow autonomous passenger vehicles to be offered through app-based transport intermediaries. Feedback closes October 1, meaning the proposal should not yet be treated as a final operating rule.
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia's Insurance Authority has opened draft risk-based capital rules and related regulatory amendments for public feedback until October 10. The consultation can still change the detailed rules, but the broader transition to the new solvency framework is already scheduled for January 1, 2027.
Saudi ArabiaUnited Cooperative Assurance says Saudi Arabia's Insurance Authority has suspended it from issuing or renewing policies across all insurance products. The move is broader than February's motor-only restriction, while a separate liquidation filing remains unresolved in court.
Saudi ArabiaSaudi startup Nero says it has received permission to operate autonomous delivery vehicles in public neighbourhoods and has started in Al Falah. The operational shift is meaningful, but the public evidence does not yet disclose the issuing authority, fleet size or permit scope.
SAMA says merchants will soon be able to accept mada cards, contactless cards and digital wallets directly on compatible iPhones. The announcement expands software-based payment acceptance, but no public launch date has been disclosed.
