Saudi Arabia’s banking sector is advancing with vision and velocity, guided by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)’s evolving regulatory expectations and aligned with Vision 2030’s bold digital transformation. SAMA’s June 2025 directives make it clear that AI-driven scam detection, biometric onboarding, and cross-border surveillance are becoming essential.
Regulatory Imperatives: The 2025 Timeline
As fraud threats grow more complex, the second half of 2025 is becoming a defining phase in the Kingdom’s journey toward real-time, intelligence-led fraud prevention.
Q3 2025 Expectations
- AI Governance Enforcement: Banks are expected to demonstrate explainable, auditable GenAI systems with clearly documented bias controls and data lineage.
- GCC Mule Account Watchlist: SAMA and its GCC counterparts are strengthening cooperation against cross-border mule networks through joint fraud intelligence frameworks.
- Biometric KYC Controls: Real-time biometric verification is being strongly encouraged for mobile onboarding, with heightened regulatory scrutiny of facial spoofing controls.
Q4 2025 Shifts
- Open Banking Phase 3: This regulatory framework allows banks and authorized third parties to securely share customer data via standardized APIs, based on customer consent. Under Phase 3, institutions will be responsible for managing fraud risks related to third-party fintechs, with stronger monitoring and control measures.
- AI Audit Trail Requirements: SAMA is expected to finalize guidelines for auditability and traceability of AI decisions in high-risk use cases, especially at the AML/fraud intersection.
- Multi-Channel Orchestration: Banks must holistically monitor fraud journeys across Sarie (the national instant payment system), POS, mobile, IVR, and embedded finance ecosystems.
Emerging Threat Vectors & Technology Gaps Requiring Attention
SAMA’s 2025 fraud reviews identify three fast-rising risks:
- Arabic-language scam kits targeting SMEs and younger demographics with localized phishing
- Synthetic IDs using AI-fabricated data to bypass legacy KYC in fast-disbursal lending
- Social-driven mule recruitment through encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram
Rules-based systems are no longer sufficient. Banks must pivot to:
- Behavioral AI for dynamic, real-time anomaly detection
- Federated learning for privacy-preserving, cross-institutional threat sharing
- Deepfake detection for media authentication in onboarding/voice transactions
Collaboration: The Non-Negotiable Priority
SAMA’s Counter-Fraud Framework expects banks to achieve at least Level 3 (Structured and Formalized) compliance maturity, requiring:
- Integration of fraud, cyber, and AML teams to break operational silos
- Active participation in GCC-wide anti-financial crime alert networks
- API-level fraud data sharing with Open Banking partners
With MENA cybersecurity spending projected to reach $3.3 billion by 2025, the focus must be on:
- Real-time behavioral analytics over batch fraud monitoring
- Demonstrably explainable AI, in line with SAMA’s evolving AI ethics framework
- Continuous authentication across embedded finance ecosystems
The coming months will shape Saudi Arabia’s long-term fraud resilience. Success depends not simply on reacting to threats, but on adopting intelligent, adaptive, and collaborative systems, elevating fraud prevention from a compliance mandate to a pillar of trust.
Read more about real-time fraud defense frameworks at Clari5 Banking Solutions Overview.
