RIYADH – Starting April 1, all Mada debit card holders may be able to do online shopping, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Saudi central bank, announced on Wednesday.

It permitted banks operating in the Kingdom to enable Mada card holders to pay and purchase via the Internet as of April 1, 2018, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Wednesday.

Mada debit card is issued by local banks that allows a cardholder to access funds in their accounts and carry out online transactions such as paying utility bills and government fees.

All local electronic stores in the Kingdom will now accept Mada cards.

There are more than 29 million Mada cards in the local market.

Director General of the Payments Systems Administration at SAMA Ziyad Al-Yusuf said that a text message will be sent to user’s mobile confirming the completion of the operation.

There is also an option to choose activation or cancel it via the electronic channels of the bank that issued the card, Al-Yusuf added.