Saudi Arabia is a market where contactless payment has become the standard under the Vision 2030 cashless policy, and mobile wallet usage is active thanks to a young population and high smartphone penetration. With registering the national debit network Mada card to Apple Pay now commonplace, Apple Pay has become effectively the default payment method for iPhone users. Face ID and Touch ID biometric authentication combined with tokenization technology mean the actual card number is never passed to the merchant, which also reduces checkout abandonment driven by security concerns, and both Safari web payments and in-app payments are supported.

Because it reduces the checkout process to a single authentication step, it is especially effective for categories where checkout abandonment directly affects revenue, such as fashion, beauty, and digital services serving Saudi customers mainly through mobile web. However, to also capture Android users and those who prefer debit cards, a parallel setup with Mada, Google Pay, and others is needed—please refer to the comparison below.

When a consumer taps the Apple Pay button on the checkout screen and approves with Face ID or Touch ID, payment is approved using the Mada or international card information stored as a token on the device. The payment itself is made in SAR, and Hecto Financial collects this amount in SAR, converts it, and settles it to the Korean merchant in the contracted currency—USD, KRW, or JPY. Technical requirements such as Apple Pay button display rules and domain verification need to be confirmed in the documentation before integration.

With Hecto Financial integration, Korean merchants can consider Apple Pay acceptance without a separate agreement with Apple or a local acquiring contract in Saudi Arabia. Support conditions (fees, settlement cycle, currency options) vary by industry and transaction volume, so please confirm the available scope through prior consultation.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether a contract is possible on the basis of a Korea-registered business

• Sales channels

  The integration method differs depending on whether you sell online only or also include offline stores in Saudi Arabia

• Product categories

  Advance confirmation is needed as to whether your category falls under the merchant policy restrictions of the Apple Pay operator

• Local regulatory compliance

  Confirmation is needed on compliance with Saudi Arabia's payment and foreign exchange regulations (see official sources below)

Settlement can be understood in two stages. First, Hecto Financial collects the Saudi consumer's Apple Pay payment in SAR, and next, after conversion, it pays the Korean merchant in one of the currencies chosen under contract—USD, KRW, or JPY. The settlement cycle and fees vary depending on contract terms. For refunds, cancellation proceeds through the card used in the original payment, and since Apple Pay and card network policies apply together with Hecto Financial's operating policy, it is advisable to confirm the processing deadline in advance.

• Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)Official information on Saudi Arabia's payment systems and related regulations. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.