Open loop and/or reloadable prepaid payment service products are allowed to be issued to an individual provided a Full Verification process has been undertaken:

Full verification is the process by which the Issuer or an authorised third party obtains and verifies the prepaid accountholder’s identity. Accountholders whose identity has been fully verified shall have a prepaid payment service with the full functionality as determined by the Issuer. Full verification is conducted face-to-face (refer to (100-8) interviewing the customer in Rules governing the opening of bank accounts & general operational guidelines in Saudi Arabia).

The face to face verification process requires a government issued document with primary cardholder's full name and photograph. The accepted documents are the same as mentioned in the rules of opening bank accounts. In addition, for those who are not resident in the Kingdom and are in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj & Omrah or to provide professional consultancy services for government agencies or for a local commercial entity, the accepted documents are a valid passport with valid Saudi visa.

Merchants will not be entitled to conduct the full verification due to the potential conflict of interest.

The Issuer remains responsible for the verification process and is officially required to produce the verification information on demand by SAMA.

Card payment service products that use a simpler form of KYC are limited to products providing restricted value, non-reloadable services which can be offered by the issuer (directly or via a third party) without verification of the cardholders identity. This may apply if the prepaid payment service has the following characteristics:

1. The prepaid payment service is not reloadable; and
2. The amount stored on the device does not exceed 400 SAR; and
3. The value is redeemable through a predefined merchant group (closed or restricted loop); and
4. The value on the prepaid account cannot be redeemed at ATMs or by transfer to a bank account.