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FinTechs belonging to this category operate trading platforms or online marketplaces for investment opportunities or certain financial contracts – e.g. securities, factoring etc. and sometimes furthermore provide contact to financial experts and tools for the decision-making.
FinTech-signalling and social trading platforms provide users with the opportunity to exchange opinions on financial investments and offer signal providers and traders the possibility to make their securities portfolio publicly visible. This way the portfolios can be linked to and followed by other traders via the platform automatically, so that the trading and investment strategy of the followed traders can be copied.
The platform often cooperates with a financial services provider or a credit institution where both the trader and the follower hold their securities accounts, and which execute the orders both of the trader and the follower and to which the platform passes on the trading decisions.
Introduction
Attitude of the country towards trading, social trading or signalling platforms
Trading is an area that Saudi’s Financial Sector Development Program focuses on, as reflected in the 2025 Commitments of the Financial Sector Development Program, which states that in order to further diversify the structure of the financial services sector, the Program is committed to increasing the market value of the stock market as a percentage of GDP to 80.8% compared to 66.5% recorded in 2019 (Financial Sector Development Program – Program Charter 2021).
Saudi Tadawul is also keen to provide new products and services that meet the needs of investors, in addition to providing investors with the necessary resources and tools to enable them to invest skillfully and consciously.
Legal affairs
Obligations and requirements to provide trading, social trading or signalling platforms described above
regulatory oversight of the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The CMA is responsible for ensuring the integrity, fairness, and transparency of the capital markets, as well as the protection of investors' rights.
These platforms must obtain the necessary licenses and approvals from the CMA before commencing their operations. The licensing process involves submitting an application to the CMA and providing the required documentation, which may include details on the company's structure, ownership, financial standing, and business plans, among other information. The CMA will assess the application to ensure that the platform meets the necessary regulatory requirements and standards. Once the license is granted, the platform will be subject to ongoing supervision and monitoring by the CMA, ensuring that it maintains compliance with all relevant regulations and upholds the highest standards of integrity and transparency in its operations.
Additional comments regarding the legal situation for trading, social trading or signalling platforms or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area
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Economic conditions
Market size for trading, social trading or signalling platforms and biggest companies in this business area