Lean Technologies Receives First Major Payment Institution Licence for Open Banking in Saudi Arabia

Saudi fintech Lean Technologies has become the first company to receive a Major Payment Institution licence for open banking services from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), a milestone that enables it to provide payment initiation services across the Kingdom.

The licence allows Lean to offer regulated payment services that initiate bank transfers on behalf of consumers and businesses with their consent. This capability is fundamental to open banking's commercial potential, enabling Lean's fintech clients to embed bank-to-bank payments into their applications without routing transactions through card networks.

Lean Technologies provides open banking infrastructure to fintechs, businesses, and financial institutions in Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA region. The company's platform connects to banks through standardised APIs, enabling account data access and payment initiation through a single integration point.

SAMA's decision to award the first Major Payment Institution licence to Lean reflects the company's role in building Saudi Arabia's open banking ecosystem. Lean has been working closely with the regulator and participating banks to develop and test the technical infrastructure required for open banking services.

The licence was granted under SAMA's Open Banking Framework, which has been rolled out in phases. The second release of the framework, focused on payment initiation services, provided the regulatory basis for Lean's licensing.

The development is expected to accelerate the growth of open banking-powered services in Saudi Arabia, where demand from fintechs and digital businesses for bank connectivity has been growing rapidly as the Kingdom's digital economy expands under Vision 2030.