Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) targets a financial sector contribution of 24.5% of GDP by 2030 — tokenization of capital markets instruments is positioned as a key enabler, with the CMA targeting SAR 50 billion in tokenized securities by 2030 and SAMA having already achieved 79% electronic payment adoption — surpassing the original 70% target ahead of schedule.
Vision 2030 Financial Sector Development Program
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — launched in 2016 — is the Kingdom’s comprehensive economic diversification strategy reducing dependence on oil revenue. The Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) is one of 13 Vision Realization Programs, charged with developing a diversified, effective financial sector to support the national economy.
The FSDP sets specific, measurable targets:
| Target | Metric | 2020 Baseline | 2025 Status | 2030 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial sector GDP contribution | % of non-oil GDP | 16% | 20% | 24.5% |
| Digital payment adoption | % of transactions | 36% | 79% | 70% (exceeded) |
| SAMA-licensed fintech entities | Count | 30 | 82 | 150 |
| Tadawul market cap | SAR trillion | 8.2T | 10.9T | 13.5T (est.) |
| SME financing share | % of bank lending | 6% | 10% | 20% |
| Financial literacy | % of population | 30% | 40% | 50% |
| Insurance penetration | % of GDP | 1.7% | 2.2% | 3.0% |
Tokenization contributes to multiple FSDP targets simultaneously — increasing capital markets depth (market cap), expanding financial inclusion (fractional ownership), driving fintech growth (CMA-licensed digital asset entities), and accelerating digital payment adoption (digital settlement infrastructure).
Tokenization as FSDP Enabler
Capital Markets Depth: The CMA’s target of SAR 50 billion in tokenized securities by 2028 directly contributes to capital markets depth. Tokenizing sukuk (SAR 530 billion outstanding), equity instruments, and bonds creates new market segments on Tadawul, attracting domestic and international investors to Saudi capital markets.
The sovereign digital sukuk program (SAR 5 billion target) directly increases government securities market depth while demonstrating institutional commitment to digital capital markets infrastructure. Ministry of Finance modeling estimates that tokenized sovereign instruments could attract SAR 2-3 billion in new retail investor participation — individuals who currently lack access to government fixed-income markets through the traditional primary dealer network.
Financial Inclusion: Private placement tokenization and fractional ownership enable Saudi investors to access asset classes previously restricted to institutional or high-net-worth participants. A SAR 100 million tokenized real estate fund, fractioned into SAR 100 tokens, creates 1 million potential investment units accessible to retail investors through digital banking platforms like STC Bank (12 million customers) and Rasan (3.5 million users).
The CMA’s three-tier investor classification — qualified investors (QI), semi-qualified investors (SQI), and retail — provides graduated access to tokenized securities based on sophistication and risk tolerance, balancing financial inclusion with investor protection.
Digital Payment Adoption (70% target — exceeded): SAMA’s 70% digital payment adoption target has already been surpassed, with electronic payments reaching 79% of all transactions by 2025, supported by 11.5 billion card transactions, 96% contactless penetration, 14.4 million digital wallet users, and over 2 million POS terminals. Tokenization infrastructure contributes to this momentum:
- SAR stablecoins used for tokenized securities settlement drive digital payment volume
- Digital riyal CBDC (Phase 2 pilot) provides risk-free digital settlement for atomic DvP
- Open banking APIs connecting digital asset platforms to banking infrastructure
- stc pay and digital banking platforms as distribution channels for tokenized investment products
Digital payment adoption has reached 79% — up from 36% in 2020, already exceeding the 70% Vision 2030 target. The tokenization ecosystem has contributed to this overshoot by converting securities settlement from paper-based to digital processes and introducing digital payment rails for investment activity. Saudi Arabia now targets further acceleration as tokenized securities settlement, digital riyal CBDC, and stablecoin infrastructure drive additional digital payment volume.
Fintech Ecosystem Growth: The Saudi fintech ecosystem has grown to 261 companies by end of 2025 — exceeding the original Vision 2030 target of 230 by 13% and growing 21% year-over-year. Cumulative fintech investment reached SAR 7.9 billion ($2.1 billion), surpassing the 2025 investment target by 204%. The FSDP now targets 525 fintech companies by 2030. The CMA’s introduction of 7 digital asset license categories in 2024 created a new licensing vertical, with 34 entities licensed by Q1 2026. According to the Vision 2030 Annual Report, 57% of Vision 2030 KPIs are on track or ahead of schedule.
Fintech Saudi — jointly sponsored by SAMA and CMA — manages ecosystem development through accelerator programs, international partnerships, and venture capital facilitation (SAR 4.5 billion cumulative).
Institutional Architecture Supporting Vision 2030
The FSDP operates through coordinated institutional action:
CMA — Securities and Digital Assets: The CMA’s digital assets regulatory framework provides the licensing, disclosure, custody, and enforcement infrastructure for tokenized securities. The CMA’s Digital Assets Division — established in 2023 — employs 45 staff dedicated to tokenization regulation.
SAMA — Monetary and Payment Infrastructure: SAMA provides the monetary infrastructure — fintech licensing, payment token regulation, digital riyal CBDC, stablecoin regulation, and open banking — that enables digital settlement for tokenized securities.
Tadawul — Market Infrastructure: Tadawul’s digital securities platform, operational in pilot since Q2 2025, provides the exchange infrastructure for tokenized securities trading. The platform targets 15-20 listed instruments by end of 2027.
Edaa — Settlement Infrastructure: Edaa’s DLT-integrated depository provides T+0 atomic settlement with zero settlement failures in pilot operations. Cumulative settlement volume reached SAR 4.2 billion through Q1 2026.
Saudi Blockchain Lab — Research and Standards: The Lab’s 47 research papers and 12 policy recommendations inform the technical standards underlying the tokenization infrastructure.
Fintech Saudi — Ecosystem Development: Accelerator programs, venture capital facilitation, and international partnerships build the startup ecosystem.
Progress Scorecard
| FSDP Tokenization Objective | Target | Q1 2026 Status | On Track? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokenized securities outstanding | SAR 50B by 2028 | SAR 2.1B | Building |
| CMA digital asset licenses | 60 by 2028 | 34 | On track |
| Digital securities on Tadawul | 15-20 by 2027 | 3 (pilot) | Building |
| Sovereign digital sukuk | SAR 5B by 2028 | In planning | On track |
| Digital payment adoption | 70% by 2030 | 79% | Exceeded |
| Fintech entities (SAMA + CMA) | 150 by 2030 | 116 (82 SAMA + 34 CMA) | On track |
| Digital riyal deployment | 2027 | Phase 2 pilot | On track |
International Competitiveness
Vision 2030 positions Saudi Arabia’s financial sector in competition with international financial centers. Tokenization contributes to competitiveness through:
FATF Compliance: Saudi Arabia’s FATF membership (since 2019) and the joint CMA-SAMA AML/CFT framework provide the institutional credibility required to attract international institutional investment in Saudi tokenized securities. FATF mutual evaluation results directly impact international capital flows.
GCC Leadership: Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive CMA framework — the most detailed in the GCC — positions the Kingdom as the regional standard-setter for tokenization regulation. The GCC Securities Regulators Forum’s Digital Assets Working Group uses the Saudi framework as its reference document.
FTSE/MSCI Index Inclusion: Tadawul is engaging index providers on tokenized securities inclusion in Saudi Arabia index calculations, targeting 2028. Index inclusion would drive passive investment flows into Saudi tokenized securities.
Cross-Border Settlement: Project Aber (SAMA-Central Bank of UAE bilateral CBDC experiment) and BIS mBridge participation — which Saudi Arabia joined in June 2024 with $22 million in trial transactions processed at MVP stage — position Saudi Arabia’s settlement infrastructure for international interoperability. FDI inflows reached $31.7 billion in 2024, reflecting the international investment confidence that Vision 2030’s institutional framework generates.
Economic Diversification Through Tokenization
Tokenization supports Vision 2030’s core objective — reducing oil dependence — through multiple mechanisms:
Non-oil revenue generation: CMA licensing fees, exchange trading fees, and taxation of digital asset activities create non-oil government revenue streams.
Technology sector employment: The tokenization ecosystem has created approximately 1,500 direct jobs by Q1 2026 — CMA-licensed entities, SAMA-licensed fintechs, technology providers, and research institutions. The Saudi Blockchain Lab projects 5,000 total ecosystem jobs by 2030.
Foreign direct investment: International tokenization firms establishing Saudi operations — attracted by NEOM incentives, market access, and regulatory clarity — contribute to FDI targets. Saudi Arabia attracted $31.7 billion in FDI in 2024, central to Vision 2030’s economic model.
Enterprise blockchain adoption: SAR 2.8 billion in enterprise DLT investment across banking, supply chain, healthcare, and government drives technology sector GDP contribution.
Outlook
Vision 2030’s FSDP provides the strategic framework and institutional coordination driving Saudi Arabia’s tokenization ecosystem. The combination of regulatory clarity (CMA + SAMA), market infrastructure (Tadawul + Edaa), monetary infrastructure (digital riyal + stablecoins), ecosystem support (Fintech Saudi + Saudi Blockchain Lab), and government commitment creates the institutional architecture for achieving the SAR 50 billion tokenization target.
The trajectory from SAR 0 in tokenized securities (2023) to SAR 2.1 billion (Q1 2026) demonstrates real momentum. Whether the ecosystem reaches SAR 50 billion by 2028 depends on sovereign digital sukuk issuance velocity, digital riyal deployment timeline, and enterprise adoption scaling — all areas where institutional momentum is strong.
Related network sites: Saudi Tokenized Real Estate | Dubai Tokenisation | UAE Tokenization Regulations | Capital Tokenization
PIF as Tokenization Catalyst
The Public Investment Fund — with approximately $1 trillion in assets under management — represents both the institutional anchor of Vision 2030 and a potential catalyst for tokenized capital markets at sovereign scale. PIF’s exploration of tokenization for portfolio company equity creates demand-side validation for the CMA’s regulatory framework, Tadawul’s digital securities platform, and Edaa’s DLT-integrated depository. If PIF proceeds with tokenizing shares of listed portfolio companies — including Saudi Aramco, stc, SABIC, and other Tadawul-listed entities — the resulting settlement volume would test and validate the Kingdom’s digital securities infrastructure at a scale that no other jurisdiction has attempted.
PIF’s sovereign investment strategy spans all six GCC economies and 40+ countries, meaning tokenized PIF portfolio equity could drive demand for cross-border custody infrastructure, GCC settlement interoperability, and international regulatory cooperation at a pace that private-sector issuance alone would not achieve.
Saudi Digital Academy and Workforce Development
The Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) is a critical but often overlooked component of Vision 2030’s financial sector transformation. SDA’s “Digital Capital Markets” certification program has trained 120 regulatory professionals across CMA, SAMA, and Tadawul — building the human capital needed to regulate and operate the digital securities infrastructure that Vision 2030 targets. The Elm Company — PIF’s digital solutions subsidiary — provides the Nafath digital identity verification and electronic government services that underpin the investor protection framework.
The Saudi FinTech Strategy 2025 — a joint SAMA-CMA initiative operating within the Vision 2030 framework — sets specific targets: 150 licensed fintech entities by 2030, SAR 8 billion in cumulative fintech VC investment, and digital payment adoption that has already reached 79%. The strategy connects tokenization regulation to these broader metrics, positioning the CMA’s Digital Assets Framework as an enabler of financial sector GDP contribution (targeting 24.5% by 2030) through new revenue streams, expanded investor access, and international capital attraction.
The Fintech Saudi-CMA accelerator — supporting 14 digital asset startups with SAR 280 million in follow-on investment — provides the startup pipeline that Vision 2030’s innovation metrics require. The Saudi Blockchain Lab’s 47 research papers and 12 policy recommendations inform the regulatory development that sustains the framework’s international competitiveness. Saudi Arabia’s FATF membership (since 2019) and G20 participation provide the international regulatory credibility that attracts the foreign institutional capital targeted by Vision 2030’s 20% foreign ownership objective for Tadawul-listed securities.
Elm Company’s digital infrastructure — including the Nafath identity platform used by all 82 SAMA-licensed fintech entities and 34 CMA-licensed digital asset entities — provides the unified government services backbone that Vision 2030’s digital transformation depends on. The Saudi Digital Academy’s workforce development programs have certified 120 professionals in digital capital markets infrastructure and an additional 45 in Islamic digital finance, building the human capital that the expanding tokenization ecosystem requires.
The NEOM digital economy initiative — PIF’s $500 billion smart city project — serves as a Vision 2030 showcase for how blockchain technology, digital asset infrastructure, and regulatory innovation converge in a purpose-built environment. The SEC and ESMA engagement through IOSCO working groups ensures that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 financial sector development aligns with international regulatory evolution, while the Kingdom’s bilateral cooperation agreements with 11 regulators facilitate the cross-border capital flows that Vision 2030’s international investment targets require. The Financial Sector Development Program’s quarterly progress reviews — reporting directly to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs — ensure that tokenization milestones receive the same executive oversight as other Vision 2030 priorities, maintaining institutional accountability for the SAR 50 billion target. Non-oil GDP has grown to represent 52% of total GDP, reflecting the diversification progress that tokenization infrastructure supports.
For ecosystem inquiries: info@sauditokenisation.com