Finance aggregation licence

What counts as aggregation

SAMA's Rules of Licensing Finance Support Activities define aggregation as linking clients with finance companies, according to the clients' credit obligations and solvency, so that financial services can be offered through an electronic platform, for a charge. Loan comparison and matching marketplaces that earn a fee from the match fall squarely within that description.

Aggregation is SAMA's equivalent of a finance broker. We found no separate finance broker licence in the SAMA Rulebook. The aggregator connects borrowers and lenders; if your platform funds the loans itself, you need a finance company licence instead, and deferred-payment products at checkout fall under the BNPL licence.

Watch the name clash with payments. "Payment aggregation services" is a payment service under Article 6 of the Payments Implementing Regulations, licensed as a payment institution activity. Finance aggregation is a different regime, under a different law.

The core requirements

The rules we reviewed do not restrict the legal form of an aggregation company and do not state a licence fee. Confirm both with SAMA before you incorporate.

The bank guarantee question

The Rules of Licensing Finance Support Activities ask for a bank guarantee equal to the minimum capital for a company in formation, which would be SAR 2 million. The Finance Support Activities License Guidelines ask for 20%, which would be SAR 400,000. The later documents across SAMA's finance regimes point to 20%, but neither text has been withdrawn, so ask SAMA which figure applies in your first contact with the licensing team.

How the application runs

1. Prepare the file

   Follow the Finance Support Activities License Guidelines: application form, fit and proper forms for founders and managers, business plan, policies and the bank guarantee. Send it to SAMA's licensing team by email.

2. Initial approval

   SAMA gives initial approval or a rejection within 30 working days of a complete file. Answer any request for more information within 15 working days.

3. Incorporate

   Complete incorporation within six months of initial approval. See incorporation.

4. LEI and visit

   Obtain a Legal Entity Identifier, then host SAMA's licensing visit.

5. Licence and launch

   SAMA issues the licence. Start operating within six months, or the licence is revoked.

Planning the timeline

The aggregation regime is the fastest of SAMA's finance licences on paper. SAMA decides within 30 working days of a complete file, against 60 working days for finance companies and BNPL, and information requests have a 15 working day turnaround. Incorporation then has a six-month window.

Two later deadlines catch people out. The licence is revoked if it is not used within six months, so the platform, the agreements with finance companies and the compliance function need to be close to ready when the licence issues. The term is three years with renewal due three months before expiry, so the renewal file is due about 33 months after the licence date. Lenders work to a five-year term, so a marketplace and its partner finance companies will be on different renewal cycles.

Obligations once licensed (Rules Arts 18 to 23)

• Information security in line with SAMA requirements
• AML/CTF compliance under the AML Law and SAMA's AML/CTF Guide
• A code of conduct
• Complaints handling
• Confidentiality of client information
• A business continuity plan
• SAMA supervision, including the Instructions for Practicing Aggregation Activity of May 2023
• Renewal three months before the three-year term ends

People: Saudization and senior roles

The rules require at least 50% Saudi staff across the company at the start (Article 20). Managers must be permanent residents and pass SAMA's fit and proper test. The Requirements for Appointments to Senior Positions reserve the Chief Compliance Officer and AML/CTF Director roles for Saudi nationals across SAMA-supervised institutions; the English page is not the latest version, so check role coverage against the Arabic text. See compliance function.

Who holds the licence

SAMA has been issuing aggregation licences steadily. Tamawal became the sixth licensed finance aggregation company in April 2025, and SAMA announced further aggregation licences in March, June and August 2026.

Common questions