The journey of SPAN goes back to quarter of a century where it has undergone several evolutionary leaps in its technical infrastructure, capacity, and distribution. From the time of its establishment in 1990, the network has been implementing noticeable developments to continuously improve the quality of its services in line with global payment systems.

The network connects all automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (POS) terminals throughout the country to a central payment switch that in turn re-routes the financial transactions between a merchant’s bank and the card issuer bank.

In 2015, there were more than 17,000 ATMs and 225,000 POS terminals connected to the network. More than 1.1 billion financial transactions were routed through the network, with a total value of almost SAR 626.3 billion (167 billion USD) with an average monthly transactions value in excess of SAR 52 billion. It is worth mentioning that 2015 witnessed an enormous growth in the number of installed POS terminals by over than 86 thousands device only in this year. Number of ATMs has also grown by 17% in 2015 to reach 17,217 machine comparing with 2014 figure of 14,711.

About mada
A new world of digital payment

mada as a Connection Point
mada incorporates the latest payment technology and the long experience to create a new world of payments based on innovation, freedom and flexibility; enabling any business to be a part of this world, and to consider mada as an alternative of banknotes; It connects the cardholder to his\her bank account, where payments are deducted directly from the bank account.

mada features

• A seven-fold enhanced routing capacity in comparison to the previous generation.
• An unprecedented standard of enhanced transactions performance and speed.
• Widespread accessibility.
• Instant SMS notifications to cardholders on any cash withdrawals or POS transactions.
• Increased daily transaction purchase limit at PoS terminals from SAR 20,000 to SAR 60,000.
• Value-added services   naqd service that gives cardholders the convenience of withdrawing cash with their purchase at the merchant outlet.  Click here for more information on Purchase with Cash Back service.