Riyadh: The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia has announced that pilgrims can use their internationally issued bank cards for the first time during this year’s Haj season.
This step comes as the central bank, on Sunday, June 9, introduced various services to cater to pilgrims demands and facilitate transactions.
As per a report by Arabic daily Al Ekhbariya, pilgrims in the Kingdom can use local bank cards for payments and cash withdrawals through Mada, the national payment system, which supports transactions via international payment networks.
International cards such as
- Visa
- Mastercard
- UnionPay
- Discover
- American Express
- Gulf Payment Co. Afaq network
The central bank distributed over 5 billion Saudi Riyals (Rs 1,11,35,46,63,350) in banknotes and coins to branches in Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah, while monitoring the movement of daily cash flow in the Kingdom.
It has also provided 1,220 ATMs and point-of-sale terminals, with 633 in Makkah, 19 mobile devices at holy sites, and 568 in Madinah.
