Building an app for Saudi users
Saudi customers are young, mobile-first and quick to switch to a better app. iPhone and Android are close to evenly split, so both platforms need equal care. This is what we plan for on every Saudi project.
Payments the way Saudis pay
mada is the national debit network and Apple Pay has become the default for many shoppers, so both belong on the first screen of the checkout. Tabby and Tamara instalments lift basket sizes for retail, SADAD covers bills and subscriptions, and stc Bank — the digital bank that grew out of STC Pay — is widely used for wallet payments. We choose a gateway that supports all of these in one integration and test refunds and failed payments as carefully as successful ones.
PDPL in practice
The Personal Data Protection Law applies to any processing of personal data about people in the Kingdom, including by companies abroad. In practice that means Arabic privacy notices, clear consent for marketing, a 72-hour breach plan, and safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses when data leaves the country — which includes remote access by a development team. Some controllers must also register on SDAIA's National Data Governance Platform. Fines reach up to SAR 5 million and can be doubled for repeat offences, so we treat these as launch requirements, not paperwork.
E-invoicing is not optional
ZATCA rolled out FATOORA Phase 2 in waves from January 2023, notifying each group of businesses at least six months before their deadline. Wave 24 covered businesses with revenue above SAR 375,000 by 30 June 2026, and wave 25 brings in those above SAR 187,500 by 1 February 2027. Any POS, ERP or billing product sold in the Kingdom needs a compliant integration, and we build these integrations ourselves.
Choosing where to host
Private-sector apps that don't hold government or critical-infrastructure data can use regional hosting, but many Saudi enterprises prefer in-Kingdom hosting. Google Cloud's Dammam region (since 2023), Oracle's Jeddah and Riyadh regions and the STC-backed cloud are available today, and AWS and Microsoft Azure have announced Saudi regions for the end of 2026.
Arabic AI that understands Saudi users
Customer-service chatbots need to handle Saudi dialect, Modern Standard Arabic and English in the same conversation. We build assistants on large language models with your own content, test them with native Arabic speakers from your team, follow SDAIA's AI ethics principles and always offer a route to a human.
Working with us from Saudi Arabia
We share Monday to Thursday with Saudi teams, from 7 AM to 4 PM Riyadh time, and pick up Sunday's messages first thing on Monday. Engagements start with a free consultation, followed by a fixed-price proposal or a dedicated-team rate. As a rough guide, a focused MVP costs US$5,000–$15,000, a mid-sized app $15,000–$40,000 and complex platforms start from around $40,000.