PLASTIC has made life so much more easier for most people in Saudi Arabia, not quite those who use their credit cards to splurge but those who use debit cards to pay their bills. In a dramatic reversal of consumer behavior in just five years, almost three-quarters of Saudi Arabia now settles utility, phone and other bills by electronic means such as ATMs, phone banking and online, according to new statistics. At the heart of the switch is Sadad - established by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) as the national bill presentation and payment service. Sadad links organisations and their invoices with local banks enabling them to collect customer payments electronically through all banking channels 24 hours a day. “The majority - 82 percent in March this year - of bills in Saudi Arabia are now paid through Sadad. In addition, the value of bills paid through Sadad reached $600 million in March and is on target to reach nearly $1 billion a month by the end of 2008,” said Nezar Al-Murgen, director of Business Development for Sadad Payment Systems. In 2003, prior to Sadad's introduction, 73% of bills were paid physically by customers in banks. The percentage of customers paying by that method has this year has now declined to only 12%. Payment through ATMs is favoured by 42% with 27% opting for phone banking and 19% online. Organizations such as telecom, utility, TV, airline and banks are now involved in the Sadad system as billers along with water, postal, customs and municipalities. Over 40 more government and private sector organizations are also integrating with the system. A decade ago, bill payment meant controlling one's temper in a bank queue in which anyone who's anyone butted in at will. Moreover, the attempt would often end up in wasting a whole morning that should otherwise be spent at work: the queue would reach nowhere by the time the morning session ends at prayer break, resulting in another queue scramble afterwards for a brief second attempt before the bank closes for the afternoon. Bank timings have better now with the change to an uninterrupted stretch from morning, five days a week. __
