On March 26, 2026, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that it had begun licensing fintech companies to provide open banking services, licensing the first two firms.
The licences follow SAMA's open banking sandbox, in which firms tested their services under regulatory supervision.
LEAN TECHNOLOGIES LEADS ADOPTION
Lean Technologies is one of the first two firms licensed by SAMA to provide open banking (account information) services, receiving a Major Payment Institution licence. Founded in 2019, Lean provides financial data and payment APIs that allow businesses to access customer bank account information and initiate payments through a single platform, and says it serves more than 350 enterprise clients across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Coverage of the announcement linked the licensing to the Kingdom's Vision 2030 financial-sector objectives.
PHASED ROLLOUT
SAMA's open banking framework has been rolled out in phases: phase one, launched in 2022, covered account information services, and in September 2024 SAMA announced phase two, covering payment initiation services.
LEAN'S SANDBOX JOURNEY
Lean was the first technical service provider admitted to SAMA's open banking sandbox, in June 2022, and says it has since connected more than 1.1 million bank accounts in Saudi Arabia.
"Receiving this license from SAMA is the moment that validation becomes official," said Hisham Al-Falih, Lean's CEO and co-founder.