Cards · On request
mada
mada is Saudi Arabia's national debit card scheme, run by Saudi Payments, the payments arm of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA): every debit card a Saudi bank issues is a mada card, so it is the card most Saudi payers hold. Online a mada payment is authenticated through 3-D Secure, authorised in seconds and settled T+1, and about 55 % of the country's online payments run on it (Saudi Payments, 2025); in the catalogue a Tranzify client enables it on request.
Key facts
- Countries
- Saudi Arabia
- Currencies
- SAR
- Operations
- Pay-in · Recurring · Refund
- Settlement
- T+1
- Chargebacks
- under the scheme rules
- share of e-commerce payments · Saudi Arabia
- 55 % (Saudi Payments, 2025)
How a payment goes through
- 1The payer enters the card on the hosted checkout; the number is encrypted before it leaves the page
- 2The vault stores a token; routing picks the acquirer by BIN, country and amount
- 33-D Secure when the issuer asks; the acquirer authorises
- 4Callback to the merchant, status in the journal for five years
How a payment goes through
- The checkout takes the card on the payment form and recognises a mada BIN, or uses a saved token.
- The issuing bank authenticates the payer through 3-D Secure.
- The provider authorises the payment on the mada network in seconds; settlement follows T+1.
- Tranzify writes the result and calls the merchant’s webhook.
mada against international cards in Saudi Arabia
| mada | Visa / Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Saudi Payments (SAMA) | the international schemes |
| History | SPAN since 1990, the mada brand since 2015 | — |
| Cards | every Saudi bank debit card | credit cards and co-badged debit cards |
| Share of online payments | about 55 % (Saudi Payments, 2025) | — |
| Authentication | 3-D Secure | 3-D Secure |
| Settlement | T+1 | T+1 |
| Chargebacks | scheme rules | scheme rules |
| Wallets | mada cards in Apple Pay | yes |
Payouts and refunds
Refunds, full or partial, go back to the card through the provider that took the payment; recurring charges use the token stored after the first authenticated payment. Payouts to a card are not part of the method in the catalogue.
Who uses it
E-commerce and travel, where Saudi payers pay from the debit card tied to their salary account; delivery and digital goods for repeat purchases charged by token.
How to connect
- 1Onboard with Tranzify and get your network, keys and back office.
- 2Enter your account with the provider in the terminal settings — Tranzify already speaks its API.
- 3Add routing rules: countries, currencies, amounts, BIN ranges, priorities and weights.
- 4Go live. Every payment, callback and retry is in the journal for five years.
Providers offering this method
Industries
Frequently asked questions
Is a mada card also a Visa or Mastercard?+
Are recurring charges possible?+
Who is the licensed party?+
Related methods
See the platform on your own flows
Thirty minutes with an engineer, not a sales deck: your providers, your routing rules, your merchants' checkout.
- ✓ Not a financial institution
- ✓ Money never passes through us
- ✓ Built to PCI DSS requirements