**new ..Saudi Arabia: Launching a "digital currency" and ending paper paper work soon**

Saudi Arabia plans to launch an electronic digital currency and put it on the banks in an experiment in line with global
developments

Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Governor Ahmad Al-Khulaifi disclosed the institution's plans to launch a pilot digital currency for inter-bank trading to keep abreast of global developments, the Saudi newspaper Al-Ahlal reported.

Al-Khulaifi said at a press conference held in Riyadh on Wednesday (October 4, 2017) that the institution had received three applications for banking licenses, pointing out a plan to launch a pilot digital currency for interbank trading to keep abreast of global developments.

He added that SAMA will publish the license requirements of the banks within the Kingdom soon, stressing that the expectations are positive about the growth of the Saudi economy in the coming period, based on the indicators of the first half of the current year (2017).

He pointed out that the next phase will witness the end of the existence of the paper riyal in the Kingdom, stressing that he sees no reason for the fall of the riyal in futures exchange market, liquidity in the banking system is good, and there are no fears of bad loans in banks, he said.

Some countries have changed their position on digital currencies, and have amended the laws and regulations that prohibit their use