Card spending
People spent SAR 13,372.9 million by card and mobile at points of sale in Saudi Arabia in the week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH, +4.7% vs. the same week last year, in 243.6 million transactions. Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) statistics (60 cities and 30 activities weekly); figures are before deducting price rises and exclude cash and online purchases.
Spending is one of 12 data domains we publish, alongside population, prices, real estate and housing, household income, labour and more — each from its official source.
The week in detail
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) · week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
Value vs. number: transactions +10.0% and value +4.7% vs. last year
We split the annual growth into two parts. The number of transactions rose 10.0% and the value only 4.7%, so the average transaction fell 4.8% (from SAR 57.7 to SAR 54.9). Had the bill stayed the same, spending would have grown about 10.0%; the smaller bill took about 5.3 points of that growth. So growth came from more transactions, not larger ones. The likely reason is one of three, or a mix: small purchases moving from cash to cards, smaller bills more often, or both. The available evidence does not settle it: these are card payments at points of sale only, and cards replace cash every year, so a rise in the number of transactions should not be read as a rise in what people buy. The full reading in the newsletter
After inflation (estimate): +2.8% vs. the same week last year in Saudi Arabia, after deducting the rise in consumer prices (+1.8% in August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)). In 6 of 13 regions spending grew less than inflation there, so what was actually bought there most likely did not increase.
Table by region, source and method
| Region | Before inflation | Annual inflation | After inflation (estimate) | Cities covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | +4.7% | +1.8% | +2.8% | all cities |
| Riyadh | +3.2% | +2.3% | +0.9% | 10 |
| Makkah | +4.3% | +1.8% | +2.5% | 6 |
| Eastern Province | +2.7% | +1.7% | +1.1% | 12 |
| Madinah | +7.0% | +1.5% | +5.4% | 3 |
| Qassim | +7.5% | −0.4% | +8.0% | 5 |
| Asir | −2.3% | +1.3% | −3.5% | 5 |
| Tabuk | −0.4% | +1.5% | −1.9% | 2 |
| Hail | +2.4% | +2.2% | +0.2% | 1 |
| Jazan | −2.2% | +0.9% | −3.1% | 7 |
| Najran | −2.8% | +2.4% | −5.1% | 2 |
| Al-Baha | +4.0% | +2.0% | +1.9% | 1 |
| Al-Jouf | −0.3% | +4.3% | −4.5% | 3 |
| Northern Borders | +0.8% | +3.6% | −2.7% | 3 |
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly points of sale; and the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), consumer price index, August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH). These indicators rely on data published by GASTAT (the official source of the original data), modified and combined with other sources by DataPulse.
Estimate: a region’s monthly inflation applied to one week, and the consumer basket does not match the card-spending basket. Calculation: (1 + change) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. A region = the sum of its cities published by SAMA; “other cities” count in the Kingdom only. Monthly by region
What this means for your decision: compare your sales growth with inflation in your region; if it is lower, the quantity you sell has most likely fallen even if the amount rose.
What this means for your decision: Spending in the whole of Saudi Arabia over the last 13 weeks was +6.1% vs. the same weeks last year. This is an average of all cities and activities; the market closest to your sales is most likely that of your city and activity. Choose your city, then your activity
Cities’ pulse
Card spending at points of sale · 60 cities · week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
39 cities spent more than in the same week last year, and 21 less
Cities this week
Riyadh spent the most, and Makkah grew fastest among the 10 largest cities
| # | City | SAR m | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riyadh | 4,686.5 | +2.9% |
| 2 | Jeddah | 1,846.0 | +2.4% |
| 3 | Dammam | 677.7 | +5.8% |
| 4 | Makkah | 550.6 | +11.1% |
| 5 | Madinah | 536.0 | +10.4% |
| 6 | Khobar | 397.8 | +1.1% |
| 7 | Buraidah | 346.3 | +9.1% |
| 8 | Taif | 284.2 | +4.9% |
| 9 | Khamis Mushait | 246.0 | −5.4% |
| 10 | Tabuk | 212.9 | −5.3% |
| 11 | Hail | 202.7 | +2.4% |
| 12 | Abha | 151.3 | −1.2% |
Show all 60 cities
| # | City | SAR m | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Jubail | 144.6 | −2.2% |
| 14 | Jazan | 141.0 | −0.6% |
| 15 | Hofuf | 135.9 | −3.3% |
| 16 | Najran | 133.0 | −2.3% |
| 17 | Hafr Al-Batin | 132.2 | +1.3% |
| 18 | Al-Kharj | 118.5 | +4.5% |
| 19 | Qatif | 97.3 | +2.5% |
| 20 | Yanbu | 94.9 | −6.9% |
| 21 | Unaizah | 84.2 | +2.6% |
| 22 | Sakaka | 76.7 | −1.4% |
| 23 | Arar | 58.0 | +2.8% |
| 24 | Al-Rass | 57.1 | +3.1% |
| 25 | Muhayil | 56.0 | +9.1% |
| 26 | Dhahran | 52.4 | −1.0% |
| 27 | Al-Baha | 52.1 | +4.0% |
| 28 | Al-Mubarraz | 49.3 | +20.7% |
| 29 | Al-Duwadimi | 46.2 | +7.7% |
| 30 | Bisha | 45.1 | +0.7% |
| 31 | Sabya | 40.2 | −2.8% |
| 32 | Al-Khafji | 39.4 | +6.9% |
| 33 | Abu Arish | 37.4 | −6.9% |
| 34 | Al-Qurayyat | 36.5 | +5.6% |
| 35 | Al-Qunfudhah | 35.6 | +2.3% |
| 36 | Al-Majma'ah | 35.2 | +6.2% |
| 37 | Umluj | 24.7 | +79.9% |
| 38 | Wadi Al-Dawasir | 24.6 | +6.4% |
| 39 | Al-Zulfi | 24.4 | +12.7% |
| 40 | Samtah | 23.8 | −5.8% |
| 41 | Al-Muzahimiyah | 23.6 | +10.6% |
| 42 | Saihat | 22.7 | −4.0% |
| 43 | Rafha | 21.9 | −9.6% |
| 44 | Al-Bukayriyah | 21.9 | +9.2% |
| 45 | Afif | 21.3 | +16.4% |
| 46 | Rabigh | 21.1 | +5.9% |
| 47 | Sharurah | 20.3 | −6.0% |
| 48 | Ahad Rafidah | 19.7 | −6.3% |
| 49 | Tabarjal | 18.9 | −6.4% |
| 50 | Al-Quway'iyah | 17.2 | +9.3% |
| 51 | Al-Nu'ayriyah | 17.1 | +9.3% |
| 52 | Shaqra | 16.0 | +5.2% |
| 53 | Al-Bada'i | 15.0 | +17.6% |
| 54 | AlUla | 14.7 | −8.5% |
| 55 | Baish | 14.4 | +0.4% |
| 56 | Turaif | 13.2 | +12.2% |
| 57 | Safwa | 10.8 | −8.7% |
| 58 | Ahad Al-Masarihah | 10.4 | −4.3% |
| 59 | Al-Lith | 10.4 | +6.9% |
| 60 | Al-Darb | 10.1 | +3.6% |
SAR m = SAR million; change vs. the same week last year. A city is where the payment terminal is, not where the buyer lives. All city pages · Sort by change
Activities
30 activities for Saudi Arabia in the week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH, largest first. Main activities do not overlap (their sum is the Kingdom total); sub-activities detail three of them, so shares do not add up to 100%. The activity is the merchant’s classification at the bank.
| Activity | SAR m | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food and beverages (groceries and supermarkets) | 2,113.4 | 15.8% | +14.1% |
| Other | 1,974.6 | 14.8% | −1.0% |
| Restaurants and cafés | 1,758.7 | 13.2% | +10.8% |
| Clothing and accessories | 1,180.7 | 8.8% | +24.1% |
| Fuel stations | 992.8 | 7.4% | +4.7% |
| Transport | 946.7 | 7.1% | +3.2% |
| Health | 865.3 | 6.5% | +2.5% |
| Professional and business services | 717.2 | 5.4% | −12.9% |
| Furniture and home supplies | 576.6 | 4.3% | −15.5% |
| Medical services sub-activity | 523.0 | 3.9% | +2.3% |
| Vehicle and spare-parts trade sub-activity | 490.9 | 3.7% | −5.6% |
| Construction and building materials | 393.8 | 2.9% | −4.7% |
| Culture and recreation | 373.6 | 2.8% | −1.4% |
| Jewellery | 341.2 | 2.6% | +4.8% |
| Hotels | 311.1 | 2.3% | +33.5% |
| Recreation sub-activity | 254.0 | 1.9% | −0.5% |
| Vehicle maintenance and repair sub-activity | 248.9 | 1.9% | +19.5% |
| Bakeries and sweets | 247.0 | 1.8% | −3.2% |
| Electronic and electrical appliances | 206.6 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| Pharmacies and medical supplies sub-activity | 203.8 | 1.5% | −6.7% |
| Telecommunications | 181.8 | 1.4% | +16.7% |
| Personal care sub-activity | 138.4 | 1.0% | +21.4% |
| Books and stationery sub-activity | 119.7 | 0.9% | −3.3% |
| Education | 87.6 | 0.7% | −22.8% |
| Other (transport) sub-activity | 79.5 | 0.6% | +33.6% |
| Car and equipment rental sub-activity | 60.5 | 0.5% | −4.6% |
| Public utilities and services | 55.1 | 0.4% | +18.5% |
| Laundry services | 49.2 | 0.4% | +10.4% |
| Airlines sub-activity | 35.9 | 0.3% | −4.6% |
| Freight, postal and courier services sub-activity | 31.0 | 0.2% | +9.9% |
A year in 52 weeks
Salaries, Ramadan and the two Eids shape the year
- 52 weeks, one bar per week From 28 September – 4 October 2025 · 6–12 Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 AH to 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH, cardholders spent SAR 735.8 billion at points of sale. The faint mark above each bar is the same week a year earlier.
- Salary week In 12 weeks in which the monthly salary was paid (green dots under the bars), the average week was SAR 15,653.9 million, +15.7% vs. the average ordinary week (SAR 13,528.2 million, excluding Ramadan and the two Eids).
- Ramadan Ramadan spanned 5 weeks, from 15 February 2026 (27 Sha'ban 1447 AH) to 21 March 2026 (2 Shawwal 1447 AH). Its average week was SAR 15,103.2 million, +0.7% vs. the average of the four weeks before it.
- Eid al-Fitr Week of 15–21 March 2026 · 26 Ramadan – 2 Shawwal 1447 AH (Eid al-Fitr): SAR 14,793.4 million, −8.4% vs. the week before.
- Eid al-Adha Week of 24–30 May 2026 · 7–13 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH (Eid al-Adha): SAR 14,381.4 million, +0.8% vs. the week before.
- Highest week The highest week of the year was 28 December 2025 – 3 January 2026 · 8–14 Rajab 1447 AH: SAR 17,016.8 million, and it included salary payment. The lowest week was 19–25 October 2025 · 27 Rabi' al-Akhir – 3 Jumada al-Ula 1447 AH: SAR 11,689.3 million.
- This week Week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH: SAR 13,372.9 million, +4.7% vs. the same week last year. Analysis in the newsletter
Calendar: Umm al-Qura; salary date according to its payment rule.
Compare two cities
Card spending in the week of 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH, SAR million, and change vs. the same week last year.
My city and activity: save your city and activity once and see your figure each time you return (stored in your browser only).
Download the data (CSV)
8 files, attributed to their source
- ksa-weekly.csvWeekly POS spending in Saudi Arabia: total and by activity · 1,922 rows · 289 KB
- cities-weekly.csvWeekly POS spending by city · 13,298 rows · 2,341 KB
- city-activity-monthly-2024.csvMonthly POS spending: city × activity (2024) · 23,064 rows · 3,539 KB
- city-activity-monthly-2025.csvMonthly POS spending: city × activity (2025) · 23,064 rows · 3,511 KB
- city-activity-monthly-2026.csvMonthly POS spending: city × activity (2026) · 15,376 rows · 2,278 KB
- ksa-weekly-52.csvA year in 52 weeks: spending vs. the same week last year · 52 rows · 5 KB
- cities-latest-week.csvSpending by city, latest week · 60 rows · 5 KB
- activities-latest-week.csvSpending by activity in Saudi Arabia, latest week · 30 rows · 4 KB
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), point-of-sale data; processing: DataPulse. Column notes (README.txt)(Arabic) · All open data
Methodology and trust
333 continuous weeks of point-of-sale spending since May 2020 (Ramadan – Shawwal 1441 AH): enough depth to compare your week with the same week in 6 previous years, separate the effect of salaries, Ramadan and the two Eids, and measure the accuracy of our estimates on past weeks before we show them to you.
What the data measures
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), published weekly point-of-sale statistics, attributed to it.
Coverage: value of card and mobile payments at points of sale: 60 cities weekly · 30 activities for the Kingdom weekly · 60×30 monthly (and “other cities”), in SAMA’s classification.
Activities: The 30 activities = 19 main activities that do not overlap (their sum = the Kingdom total) + 11 sub-activities detailing three of them (transport 6, health 3, culture and recreation 2). For each city weekly: its total spending and 3 activities (groceries and food, restaurants and cafés, and bakeries and sweets); and every city × every activity monthly.
City and activity: the city is where the payment terminal is, not where the buyer lives; the activity is the merchant’s classification at the bank.
Comparison: annual change vs. the same week 364 days earlier, with a note when Ramadan and the two Eids shift.
Calendar: Hijri dates follow the official Umm al-Qura calendar.
What it does not measure
Cash and online: cash payments and online purchases are not included.
Prices: figures are before deducting price rises, so part of the growth is higher prices.
A single shop: data are aggregated by city and activity and do not reveal any establishment’s sales.
Revisions and estimates: SAMA may revise its figures, and we update them. Estimates in the explorer cover one week ahead only, for the Kingdom, the 10 cities and the Kingdom’s activities whose forecast accuracy we measured, with the highest and lowest expected figure and the average error in the forecast accuracy table. Estimates, not official figures.
Newsletter methodology version 1.0 · latest data week 20–26 September 2026 · 9–15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH · Full methodology