Law: Law of Payments and Payment Services as promulgated by Royal Decree No. [M/26] dated 22/03/1443 AH.

Regulations: The Executive Regulations of the Law.

Governor: Governor of the SAMA.

Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures [PFMI]: Principles issued by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures [CPMI] and the International Organization of Securities Commissions in April 2012, and all subsequent amendments and issuances thereof.

Controller: The person who – whether alone or jointly with third parties – has the ability to influence the actions or decisions of the licensee or the holding company that owns the licensee under any of the following circumstances:

Holding Company: A joint-stock company, simplified joint-stock company or limited liability company controlling a joint-stock company, simplified joint-stock company or other limited liability company [referred to as a subsidiary] through owning more than half of the capital of the relevant companies or by controlling the composition of their boards of directors, without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the Companies Law.

Complaint: An expression of dissatisfaction submitted to the licensee by a customer or consumer, expressing his dissatisfaction or objection through the means designated therefor.

License: The license granted by the SAMA to a person to operate a payment system or provide payment services, in accordance with the provisions of the Law and Regulations, including the activities specified in the license.

Applicant: The person with a legal capacity - or his representative - who submits the license application.

Licensee: Payment systems operator or payment service provider licensed under the provisions of the Law and Regulations and the like.

Licensed Bank: The bank licensed to practice banking business in the Kingdom in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Control Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. [M/5] dated 22/02/1386 AH.

Payment Service Provider: Any of the following entities:

Related Payment services: Any of the payment services that represent the activities specified in Article [6] of these Regulations.

Agent: A person who acts on behalf of a payment service provider in respect of providing the relevant payment services.

Payment service user [PSU]: Any person who uses or receives one or more relevant payment services in his capacity as payer, payee or both, or any person who uses payment services in connection with the services of a payments account information service provider.

Payment Systems Operator: A legal person licensed by the SAMA as an operator of one or more payment systems.

Unclassified Payment system: A payment system that is not classified by the SAMA as a significant payment system.

National Payment system: The payment system owned or operated directly or indirectly by the SAMA.

Payment System-Related Service Provider: It means a provider of services that is considered part of the payment system operating arrangements.

Payer: The person who has a payments account and permits a payment services order from such account, or, if there is no payments account, the person who makes the payment services order.

Payee: The person concerned with receiving the funds subject to the payment transaction.

Payments Account: An account in the name of one or more payment service users, which is used to carry out payment transactions.

Transfers: The process of receiving funds from the payer - without opening any payment account in the name of the payer or payee - for the purpose of transferring a similar amount to the payee, to a payment service provider, to a person licensed under the Rules Regulating Money Changing Business, on behalf of the payee, or to any other entity holding a similar license for the purpose of receiving funds on behalf of the payee and making them available to him.

Transfer of Funds: The process that results in the credit balance being credited to the payee’s payments account as a result of a payment transaction or a series of payment transactions, executed based on the payer’s instructions through his payments account with the payment service provider.

Direct Debit: the process of debiting from the payer’s payments account with the payee’s payment service provider or with the payer’s payment service provider, following a payment transaction executed by the payee by virtue of the authorization.

Aggregate Payment service: The transactions provided by a payment service provider through intermediary to carry out transactions on the basis of pooling funds. In this service, it is not necessary to establish a relationship with the payment service provider that provides the service of hosting payment transactions.

Payments Transaction: The process of depositing, transferring or withdrawing funds by or on behalf of the payer or by the payee.

Payments Hosting: A payment service provided by a payment service provider to the payee to accept and process payments and result in the transfer of funds to the payee.

Payments Account Information Service [PAIS]: A service that provides aggregate information - in its original form or after processing - about one or more of the payments accounts of the payment service user at one or more payment account service providers, while enabling the payment service user to modify the aggregate information and submit the same in alternative ways, provided that it is shared through electronic or other channels with the payment service user or to any other person in accordance with his instructions and authorization issued thereby.

Payment Creation Service: The service of creating a payment services order [whether through electronic channels or otherwise] based on the request of the payment service user linked to his payments account with the payments account service provider and according to the authorization issued thereby.

Payments Account Service Provider: A payment service provider that provides and maintains a payments account for the payment service user, including a licensed bank.

Payments Instrument: Any instrument or procedures made available by the payment service provider to the payment service user, for the purpose of creating payment services orders, whether through electronic channels or otherwise.

Card-Based Payments: A payments instrument provided by a payment service provider as a card that can be used to initiate a payment from a payments account with another payment service provider.

Limited Service Account: Cash value stored on payment instruments issued once by the issuer, which cannot be redeemed for cash or any other account. It shall only be used to obtain goods or services within a limited network of service providers that executed direct commercial agreements with the issuer, and are within the same group of companies or belong to the trade name or trademark.

Restricted Service Account: Cash value stored on payment instrument, which cannot be redeemed for cash or transferred to any other account. It shall be used exclusively to obtain any goods or services within a specific region or goods or services within a limited network of service providers who executed direct commercial agreements with the issuer.

Limited Network Service: Payments made using a restricted service account or limited service account.

Payment services Order: Any instruction issued by a payment service user in his capacity as payer or payee to a payment service provider to request the execution of a payments transaction.

One-time Payments Contract: A contract for a one-time payments transaction that is not made under the framework contract.

Framework Contract: The contract concluded between the parties to the relevant payment services, and aims to manage the implementation of individual and sequential payment transactions.

Electronic Money: The cash value stored electronically - including magnetic storage - which is represented as a claim with respect to the issuer provided that it is issued upon receipt of funds for the purpose of making payments transactions, and that it is accepted by a person other than the issuer as a means of payment, with the exception of virtual assets.

Electronic Money Company: A company licensed to provide electronic money issuance services.

Electronic Money Distributor [EMD]: A person who distributes or sells electronic money or redeems the same on behalf of the electronic money company, without providing any payment services [including issuing electronic money], and without acting as an agent for the electronic money company.

Protected Funds: This expression refers to the protected funds according to the following cases:

Cash Withdrawal: Any process of withdrawing or redeeming electronic money at its nominal value.

Total Average Outstanding E-Money: Calculating the average total amount of financial liabilities in relation to electronic money issued by the electronic money company during the last twelve months, calculated at the end of each calendar day.

Total Outstanding E-Money: The total value of e-money issued by the electronic money company, calculated on the first day of each calendar month and applied to such calendar month.

Payments Company: A company licensed to provide one or more relevant payment services, excluding electronic money issuance services.

Accounting Records: Basic documents and information used with regard to preparing, authenticating and reviewing financial statements and stored electronically or in any other form.

Average Value of Monthly Payments: The rolling monthly average during the twelve-calendar-month period preceding the date of calculation of the total amount of payments carried out by the payment service provider, including payments carried out by its agents, excluding the issuance or redemption of electronic money.

Authentication: The procedure through which a payment service provider verifies the identity of a payment service user or the authority to use a particular payment instrument in accordance with the Regulations and any regulations, rules, circulars, controls or instructions that may be issued by the SAMA in this regard, including cybersecurity requirements, the term “authenticator” shall be interpreted accordingly.

Authorization: Approval by the payer authenticating the payment transaction, registered in accordance with Article [38] of the Regulations.

Personal Security Features: Custom data provided by the payment service provider to the payment service user and used for authentication purposes.

Requirements for Appointments to Senior Positions: The rules, controls and instructions issued by the SAMA - and all subsequent amendments thereto - which include standards of competence and authority for occupants of senior positions with payment system operators and payment service providers.

Senior Positions: The functions, roles and responsibilities assigned to senior position occupants who make strategic decisions or manage the licensee's business operations, including the board of directors and senior management in accordance with the functions specified in the requirements for appointment to senior positions.

Suitability Form: The form issued by the SAMA in accordance with the requirements for appointment to senior positions.

Operating Rules: The operating rules of the registered payment system.

Task Assignment Rules: Regulations, rules, circulars, controls and instructions issued by the SAMA, regarding the assignment of tasks to a third party in order to regulate the provisions for the assignment of tasks to a third party.

Unique Reference Number: The account number of the payment service user.

Unauthorized Payment Transactions: These are payment transactions that are created by a person other than the payment service user without the authority to create the same.