At a Glance - Saudi Payment Network SPAN

About mada       

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       

mada is the new identity of SPAN, that represents the innovative generation of electronic payments in Saudi Arabia and is intended to boost ATMSs and POS growth with unprecedented dimensions of flexibility, speed, security, and acceptance.

Though a network of most advanced global technical payment systems, mada connects all automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (POS) terminals offered by local banks 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. The system also permits regional and global acceptance through connecting with other payment systems such as GCC Net, VISA, MasterCard, and American Express to provide mada cardholders with a wider acceptance locally and overseas.

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.

How mada card works

mada card is a debit card issued by local banks that allows a cardholder to access funds in their accounts. This accessibility can be in the form of  cash withdrawals at  ATMs or through payments for goods and services at  Point of Sale (PoS) terminals  in thousands of outlets in KSA.

mada acceptance

Locally:  with the  advanced technical infrastructure of SPAN, mada payment cards gives introduces cardholders access to a wide network of ATMS (over than 16,000 ATM machines) and POS terminals (over 160,000 terminals) found in tens of thousands of retails outlets across the different regions in KSA.

Regionally: usage of mada cards is permissible within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) through GCCnet as cardholders can conveniently withdraw cash and make purchases at PoS terminals in the GCC countries.

Globally: mada payment cards may also be co-branded with other global payment schemes such as “Visa”, “MasterCard”, “Cirrus”, “Plus”, and “Maestro” which allow the use of the card in millions of ATMs and POS terminals outside Saudi Arabia.

For more information on your mada payment card acceptance at POS terminals and ATMs overseas, please contact your issuing bank.