Indicators · Cash share · latest data July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH)
Cash share of payments: of every SAR 100, how much is withdrawn as cash?
We divide what people withdrew as cash from ATMs by the total of cash withdrawals and card purchases at points of sale, every month since 1996.
What this means for your decision: most of people’s payments are now by card, but about four of every ten riyals are still withdrawn as cash.
Thirty years from cash to card
Monthly share of cash withdrawals, as a percentage of the total of cash withdrawals and card purchases.
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), monthly ATM cash withdrawals and point-of-sale sales (via KAPSARC), up to July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH); DataPulse calculations. Axis: the Gregorian year, with the Hijri year on 1 January below it.
What this means for your decision: the shift accelerated after 2019 and then slowed; a business that relies on cash sees an audience that shrinks year after year.
Each year: cash share and the two amounts
Total of the published months in each year. Amounts in SAR billion (1,000 million riyals): value, not number of transactions.
| Year | Cash share | Cash withdrawals (SAR bn) | Card purchases at POS (SAR bn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (1447–1448 AH)(7 months) | 41.5% | 306.7 | 431.6 |
| 2025 (1446–1447 AH) | 43.2% | 537.5 | 707.2 |
| 2024 (1445–1446 AH) | 45.3% | 552.8 | 668.2 |
| 2023 (1444–1445 AH) | 47.2% | 548.8 | 614.0 |
| 2022 (1443–1444 AH) | 49.8% | 554.7 | 559.1 |
| 2021 (1442–1443 AH) | 55.1% | 581.9 | 473.3 |
| 2020 (1441–1442 AH) | 63.8% | 628.9 | 357.3 |
| 2019 (1440–1441 AH) | 72.0% | 740.6 | 287.8 |
| 2018 (1439–1440 AH) | 76.3% | 748.3 | 232.3 |
| 2017 (1438–1439 AH) | 78.4% | 728.5 | 200.5 |
| 2016 (1437–1438 AH) | 80.5% | 753.4 | 182.7 |
| 2015 (1436–1437 AH) | 81.8% | 777.2 | 172.8 |
| 2014 (1435–1436 AH) | 82.1% | 731.4 | 160.0 |
| 2013 (1434–1435 AH) | 83.3% | 668.1 | 134.2 |
| 2012 (1433–1434 AH) | 83.7% | 625.8 | 122.2 |
| 2011 (1432–1433 AH) | 85.4% | 578.3 | 98.9 |
| 2010 (1431–1432 AH) | 86.7% | 468.4 | 71.9 |
| 2009 (1430–1431 AH) | 88.0% | 411.3 | 56.3 |
| 2008 (1428–1430 AH) | 88.1% | 379.0 | 51.4 |
| 2007 (1427–1428 AH) | 88.7% | 308.7 | 39.4 |
| 2006 (1426–1427 AH) | 90.0% | 279.1 | 31.0 |
| 2005 (1425–1426 AH) | 89.8% | 245.9 | 28.1 |
| 2004 (1424–1425 AH) | 89.3% | 200.4 | 24.0 |
| 2003 (1423–1424 AH) | 89.7% | 171.6 | 19.7 |
| 2002 (1422–1423 AH) | 92.3% | 177.8 | 14.7 |
| 2001 (1421–1422 AH) | 93.0% | 137.0 | 10.2 |
| 2000 (1420–1421 AH) | 94.3% | 121.3 | 7.4 |
| 1999 (1419–1420 AH) | 94.3% | 103.9 | 6.3 |
| 1998 (1418–1419 AH) | 93.5% | 71.7 | 5.0 |
| 1997 (1417–1418 AH) | 91.9% | 46.6 | 4.1 |
| 1996 (1416–1417 AH)(6 months) | 89.8% | 14.2 | 1.6 |
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), monthly ATM and point-of-sale statistics (via KAPSARC, last updated 25 September 2026 (14 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)).
How we calculate
- Cash: the value of ATM cash withdrawals in the month (the mada network and banks’ own machines together).
- Cards: the value of sales through point-of-sale terminals in the same month.
- The share: cash ÷ (cash + cards) × 100, before adjusting for inflation. A year = the sum of its months.
What the indicator does not measure
- It excludes bank transfers and digital wallets outside points of sale, bill payments (SADAD), and online purchases outside mada.
- A cash withdrawal is not necessarily spending: cash may be saved, transferred or sent abroad; we treat it as an approximate indicator of cash use.
- It does not measure cash that does not pass through ATMs (such as wages paid in cash or withdrawals at branches).
- Saudi Arabia as a whole only: no breakdown by city or activity, because cash withdrawals are published for the whole country only.
Source
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), monthly point-of-sale statistics (statistical report); processing: DataPulse (datapulseactive.com). The long monthly series (since 1995) as republished by the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC).
The files are DataPulse’s processing of published SAMA figures, not an official copy; the official reference is SAMA’s own publications.
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs; the English above is a summary)
المصدر: البنك المركزي السعودي (ساما)، نقاط البيع الشهرية (التقرير الإحصائي)؛ معالجة: نبض البيانات (datapulseactive.com). السلاسل الشهرية الطويلة (منذ 1995) كما أعاد نشرها مركز الملك عبدالله للدراسات والبحوث البترولية (كابسارك).
الملفات معالجة نبض البيانات لأرقام ساما المنشورة، وليست نسخة رسمية؛ المرجع الرسمي منشورات البنك المركزي السعودي.