stc-pay

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stc-pay

Overview

STC Bank (formerly STC Pay; Arabic: بنك إس تي سي) is Saudi Arabia's first fintech unicorn and the digital payments arm of the STC Group (Saudi Telecom Company) ^{1, 3}. Originally launched as the Saudi Digital Payments Company in 2017 and rebranded to STC Pay in 2019, the company received a full digital banking license from SAMA in June 2021 and was restructured as STC Bank ^{1, 4, 5}. As of November 2020, STC Pay had more than 4 million active users ³. STC Bank is a SAMA-regulated digital bank and a member of the Mada network, issuing Mada debit cards and supporting Mada Pay NFC payments ^{6, Saudi Arabia report}.

STC Bank operates as both a consumer digital wallet (P2P transfers, QR payments, bill payments, mobile top-ups, marketplace) and a full-scope digital bank (savings accounts, personal finance, business accounts, POS acquiring, e-commerce gateways, SME financing) ⁵. It is the first and largest fintech unicorn in the Middle East, having achieved a $1.3 billion valuation in November 2020 when Western Union acquired a 15% stake for $200 million ^{1, 3}.

History

2017–2018 — Foundation ¹:

The Saudi Digital Payments Company was launched in 2017, with official work beginning in 2018.
Established as a subsidiary of the STC Group (Saudi Telecom Company), the Kingdom's largest telecommunications operator.
Backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) through the STC Group ownership structure.

2019 — Rebrand to STC Pay ¹:

December 2019: The company launched a new brand identity as STC Pay.
Concurrently, STC Group rebranded its Bahrain and Kuwait branches from "VIVA" to "stc Bahrain" and "stc Kuwait".

2020 — Unicorn status and EMI license ^{1, 3}:

STC Pay earned its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from SAMA, becoming the first fintech company licensed by SAMA.
November 2020: Western Union acquired a 15% stake for $200 million, valuing STC Pay at $1.3 billion — making it the first fintech unicorn in the Middle East.
CEO Ahmed Alenazi announced expansion plans into UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
The company began negotiating with SAMA for a digital banking license to enable lending and expanded products.

2021 — Digital bank conversion ¹:

June 2021: The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA) approved the conversion of the Saudi Digital Payments Company (STC Pay) into a digital bank.
This was a landmark regulatory decision — one of the first digital-only bank licenses issued in Saudi Arabia.

2022–2025 — STC Bank era ⁶:

The entity was formally restructured and rebranded as STC Bank (بنك إس تي سي).
STC Bank appears in the Mada network member list as "STC Bank (Previously STC Pay)" — ranked as the #2 local digital bank in Saudi Arabia, behind D360 Bank and ahead of Vision Bank ⁶.
The STC Bank app is available on App Store (iOS), Google Play (Android), and Huawei AppGallery ⁵.
Paid-up capital: SAR 6.35 billion; Council of Ministers decree 671 dated 12/11/1442H (22/06/2021) ⁵.
The app was rebranded as "STC Bank" (App Store ID: 6458546150) while maintaining continuity with the STC Pay user base ⁵.

Technical features

STC Bank app capabilities ⁵:

Category	Features
Cards	Mada debit cards; Visa credit cards; virtual cards
Transfers	P2P (local and international via Western Union); contact-based transfers; group expense splitting
Savings	Smart Saver accounts; Fixed Deposit accounts
Financing	Personal Finance; Smart Finance; POS Financing; Capex Financing; Working Capital Financing
QR payments	SAQR-compliant merchant QR scanning; Mada Pay support
Marketplace	In-app marketplace with digital goods, gaming, entertainment
Business	Business accounts; POS terminals; e-commerce gateways; SME financing; merchant portal
Analytics	Spending tracking and analytics ("Qattah" feature)
Multi-currency	International money transfers via Western Union to 200+ countries
App availability	iOS (App Store), Android (Google Play), Huawei (AppGallery)
Platform	Shariah-compliant (Islamic banking principles)

Mada integration ^{6, Saudi Arabia report}:

STC Bank is a member of the Mada network — all STC Bank-issued cards are Mada-compatible.
STC Bank-issued cards support Mada Pay (NFC contactless on Android).
STC Bank is listed among e-wallets that issue Mada cards and support Mada Pay.

SAQR compliance ^{Saudi Arabia report}:

STC Pay (now STC Bank) was one of the original SAMA-licensed QR payment providers that had to comply with the SAQR standard by the end of 2021 [saqr-cro].
Supports static and dynamic QR codes in the EMVCo MPM (Merchant-Presented Merchandise) format.
Uses ISO 20022 messaging for cross-bank interoperability via the Saudi Payments platform operated by HPS ^{Saudi Arabia report}.

International remittance:

Western Union integration enables international money transfers to 200+ countries ³.
This was the cornerstone of the Western Union investment thesis.

QR format

STC Bank operates within the SAQR (Saudi QR Code) framework — SAMA's unified national QR standard ^{Saudi Arabia report}.

QR specifications:

Attribute	Value
Standard	SAQR (SAMA QR Code Technology)
EMVCo compliance	Yes — EMVCo QR Code Specification (MPM)
Messaging	ISO 20022
QR modes	Static QR (merchant), Dynamic QR (consumer)
Payee info	MERCHANT_PAN / MERCHANT_ACCOUNT_ID (SAQR payload)
Currency	SAR (682)
Country	SA
Routing	Saudi Payments switch (HPS platform)
Compliance deadline	End-2021 (all QR providers migrated)

SAQR payload structure (per SAMA Rulebook on QR Code Technology):

00=01
01=12 (MPM — Merchant Presented Mode)
26=.. (Payload Format Indicator + SAQR-specific fields)
  01=Merchant Account Information — SAQR
    01=Global Unique Identifier (Mada/Saudi Payments merchant ID)
    02=Merchant Name
    03=Merchant City
  02=Primary Account Number (Mada card or SAQR account)
29=Merchant Name (fallback)
30=Merchant City
51–52=Transaction currency (SAR = 682)
53–54=Transaction amount
58=Country Code (SA)
59=Merchant Name
60=Merchant City
61=Postal Code (optional)
62=.. (Additional data — see sub-fields)
  01=Reference Label
  02=Label
  03=Narrative
63=CRC (CRC16-CCITT, CRC field length = 04)

Consumer-Presented Mode (CPM):

STC Bank supports consumer-presents-QR (CPM) mode for in-store payments where the merchant terminal generates a QR code for the app to scan ^{Saudi Arabia report}.

Deployment

User base ³:

4+ million active users (as of November 2020) ³.
No publicly disclosed user count post-2020; the company transitioned to banking operations which shifts disclosure requirements.

Market position:

#2 digital bank in Saudi Arabia (per Mada network member list) ⁶.
First fintech unicorn in the Middle East ^{1, 3}.
Backed by the STC Group — Saudi Arabia's largest telecommunications operator with ~20,000 employees and infrastructure across KSA, Bahrain, and Kuwait ¹.
Western Union (15% shareholder) provides the international remittance backbone ³.

App distribution:

iOS: App Store (App Store ID: 6458546150) ⁵.
Android: Google Play (package: sa.com.stcbank) ⁵.
Huawei: AppGallery (C108923057) ⁵.

Merchant acceptance:

All STC Bank POS terminals accept Mada cards ⁵.
STC Bank merchant portal and e-commerce gateway available for online accepting ⁵.
POS Financing available for SMB merchants ⁵.

Regulatory

Primary regulator: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) ^{1, 3}.

Licenses held:

Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license — 2020, the first fintech company to receive one from SAMA ^{1, 3}.
Digital Bank license — approved June 2021 by SAMA, one of the earliest digital-only banking licenses in Saudi Arabia ¹.
Council of Ministers decree 671 dated 12/11/1442H (22/06/2021) — formal authorisation to operate as a banking entity ⁵.
Mada network membership — all STC Bank cards are Mada-compatible; supports Mada Pay NFC ⁶.
SAQR compliance — migrated to SAMA's unified QR standard by end-2021 ^{Saudi Arabia report}.

Regulatory framework:

SAMA's Payment Services Regulations.
SAMA's QR Code Technology Rulebook.
SAMA's consumer protection and cybersecurity requirements.
Shariah-compliant operations overseen by STC Bank's Shariah Committee ⁵.

International partnerships:

Western Union (15% shareholder since 2020) — provides the international money transfer infrastructure to 200+ countries ³.
Saudi Payments (SAMA subsidiary) — provides the SAQR QR routing and settlement layer.
HPS (Hightech Payment Systems) — technology partner for the SAQR platform ^{Saudi Arabia report}.

Comparison

vs. Mada Pay — Mada Pay is SAMA's own mobile wallet (Android-only, NFC-based) ^{Saudi Arabia report}. STC Pay/STC Bank is a commercial telco-backed digital bank with a broader product range (savings, loans, business accounts, marketplace) but the same underlying Mada rail. Mada Pay is essentially a SAMA convenience app; STC Bank is a full banking entity.

vs. D360 Bank — D360 Bank is the #1 digital bank in Saudi Arabia (per Mada member list) ⁶. Both are SAMA-licensed digital banks; D360 Bank is bank-backed (SNB subsidiary), while STC Bank is telco-backed. STC Bank has the Western Union remittance advantage.

vs. Vision Bank — Vision Bank is the #3 digital bank on the Mada list, also SAMA-licensed ⁶. STC Bank's telco backing (STC Group's ~20M+ telecom subscriber base) gives it a distribution advantage over traditional bank-led digital offerings.

vs. urpay (Al Rajhi Bank) — urpay is a bank-affiliated e-wallet that issues Mada cards and supports Mada Pay ⁶. STC Pay/STC Bank predates urpay and has the unicorn valuation, Western Union stake, and digital bank license that urpay (as an e-wallet) does not hold.

vs. regional fintech wallets (Alipay+, WeChat Pay, GrabPay) — STC Pay was the first fintech unicorn in the Middle East ^{1, 3}. In the GCC, its closest peer is BenefitPay (Bahrain) — a SAMA-regulated QR payment ecosystem. STC Pay's scale (4M+ users, $1.3B valuation) exceeds most GCC fintech wallets.

Status

Active, SAMA-regulated digital bank ^{1, 5, 6}:

Licensed by SAMA as a digital bank since June 2021.
Mada network member — #2 digital bank in Saudi Arabia.
SAQR-compliant QR payments active.
App available on iOS, Android, and Huawei AppGallery.
Western Union partnership active for international remittances.
SAR 6.35 billion paid-up capital.
Shariah Committee oversees Islamic compliance.
STC Group (Saudi Telecom Company) is the parent company — publicly listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul: 7010) ¹.

Notable: The transition from STC Pay (e-wallet) to STC Bank (digital bank) represents one of the most significant fintech-to-bank transformations in the Middle East. STC Bank is among the earliest examples of a telco-backed fintech achieving full banking licensure in the GCC region.

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from stc-pay.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.