Further to Circular No. 361000006226 dated 11/01/1436 H and Circular No. 351000070134 dated 01/06/1435H regarding the mandatory requirement to obtain the retail banking professional certificate . This is for employees who interact directly or indirectly with customers.

          I would like to inform you that SAMA has updated the professional examinations for both the Certificate of Basics of Retail Banking and the Credit Advisor Certificate – Level One, along with their respective training materials, to comply with the related regulations and instructions issued by SAMA. In addition, a professional certification for foreign exchange and remittance and its respective training material have been newly established.

            Accordingly, SAMA emphasizes the obligation for bank and financial transfer center employees, as well as employees of financing companies, companies registering finance lease contracts, and exchange institutions and companies, to obtain the professional certificate for the basics of retail banking, the professional certificate for credit advisors – level one, and the professional certificate for currency exchange and transfer. This requirement applies even to employees who have previously obtained any of these certificates in their earlier editions, according to the following details:

• Employees required to obtain the professional certification in Fundamentals of Retail Banking and the professional certification for Credit Advisor – Level 1:

- Frontline employees at banks , including but not limited to: branch employees and managers, sales employees, and call center staff. This also includes employees contracted through a third party.

- Customer care management employees at banks.

The employees required to obtain the professional certification for Credit Advisor - Level One:

Frontline employees at finance companies and financial lease contract registration companies, including but not limited to: branch employees and managers, sales employees, and call center employees. This also includes employees contracted through a third party.

- Customer care management staff at finance companies.

• Employees required to obtain the professional certificate in banking and transfer:

Frontline employees at bank-affiliated remittance centers, including but not limited to: branch employees and managers, sales staff, and call center employees. This also includes employees contracted through a third party.

- All employees of exchange institutions and companies. This includes employees contracted through a third party.

SAMA emphasizes the requirement to obtain the aforementioned professional certifications within a maximum period of two years from this date, with a minimum of 25% of employees every six months. To view the training materials related to the above professional certifications, you can visit the website of the following Financial Academy.

According to SAMA Circular No. (44029338) dated 06/04/1444H regarding ensuring continuous fulfilment of the professional certification requirement, and referring to circular number (43007566) dated 24/01/1443H concerning the update of the target category for the credit advisor certification.

SAMA emphasizes to banks, their affiliated remittance centers, finance companies, and exchange centers the importance of continuing to meet the requirement of obtaining professional certifications, according to the following details:

• Employees required to obtain the professional certification for the fundamentals of personal banking.

Front-line employees in banks who interact directly with customers (customer care management staff, call center employees, branch staff and their managers), including those contracted through a third party.

• Employees required to obtain the professional certification for a credit advisor:

Employees of banks, and finance companies - including individuals contracted through a third party - who are directly involved in granting credit to individuals, as well as branch managers. This excludes companies that register financial lease contracts, the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, and companies involved in supporting activities.

• The employees required to obtain the professional certification for banking and money transfer:

Frontline employees at bank and its affiliated remittance centers and exchange centers, including those contracted through a third party.

For your reference and necessary action effective from this date, the certificate must be obtained within one year from the date of employment, with a commitment rate of no less than 90% for employees concerned with the certificate.