(MENAFN- Arab News) The 'mada' Point-of-Sales (POS) network has experienced a remarkable increase in both reach and usage since the beginning of the year. According to one of the Kingdom's leading bankers for the first time in its history mada has surpassed the 200000 handsets mark. Over 90000 retailers across the Kingdom now use mada-networked POS devices.
Talaat Hafiz secretary-general of the Media and Banking Awareness Committee for Saudi Banks explained that the usage of POS terminals linked to Saudi banks has recorded unprecedented growth throughout 2015. 'At the end of October we had 204175 devices linked to the network which is an increase of 57 percent over the same period last year. From January to October mada added 65396 new devices to keep up with demand from both retailers and consumers alike.'
According to Hafiz mada aims to add more devices over the coming five years to continue expanding the number of retail-based POS devices in the Kingdom. This expansion will be supported by infrastructure upgrades to support the expected increase in electronic payment transactions. 'There's an increasing trend for Saudi consumers to favor smart payment technologies when making purchases. We're witnessing a rapid shift to a less cash dominated society with the Kingdom's residents using electronic payment solutions more often due to their convenience. There's also higher levels of public trust in the security offered by Saudi banks when it comes to electronic payments which is helping to promote a change in behavior.'
To support this change Saudi banks have adopted a number of measures to promote electronic payments including a review of services charges and fees imposed on each transaction undertaken at a POS device as well as costs levied on retailers for POS installation maintenance and network fees.