mada Cards Now Accepted in Qatar, HIMYAN in Saudi

Saudi cardholders can look forward to smoother payments across the Gulf as cross-border acceptance of the national payment card mada in Qatar and the HIMYAN card in Saudi Arabia begins rolling out. The step follows the completion of technical and operational integration between the Saudi Central Bank and the Qatar Central Bank.

The launch is deliberately gradual, arriving in phases. Cardholders will gain access to services as each approved integration stage is completed, rather than all at once.

The new arrangement relies on the existing national payment networks. mada transactions are routed through the Saudi national payment network and its settlement infrastructure (SARIE), while HIMYAN transactions run through Qatar's domestic payment infrastructure. It builds on earlier point-of-sale interoperability enabled through the Gulf Payments Network (GCCNET), which already supports ATM cash withdrawals in local currency and card payments at stores across GCC countries.

For residents and travellers, the practical benefit is convenience: cross-border use is enabled automatically through banking and payment networks, with no separate registration or app required. Any fees remain subject to the pricing set by the individual card-issuing bank and acquirer, as no specific cross-border fee amounts have been published.

In Saudi Arabia, merchants and payment service providers still need to be licensed and participate in the mada scheme under Saudi Central Bank rules, with transactions processed only through approved processors. The initiative is part of a broader push to integrate digital payment systems across the GCC and expand cashless options, alongside ongoing work on cross-border QR-based payments linked to mada. The cross-acceptance is presented as an ongoing integration with no fixed end date.

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