The Saudi Currency is the official currency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is known as the 'Saudi Riyal' and abbreviated as 'SAR'.

On February 20, 2025, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, approved the official symbol of the Saudi Riyal. Inspired by Arabic calligraphy, the symbol is now used in all financial and commercial transactions at the local, regional, and international levels.
Saudi Arabia coined its first currency issue in 1925, and the first currency denominations were quarter and half Qirsh. In 1935, the first currency bearing the name 'Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' was issued.

During the reign of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, in 1952, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (currently the Saudi Central Bank) was established. It is considered the second oldest central bank in the Arab world. It is the entity entrusted with regulating financial affairs. The following year, it issued what was known as 'Pilgrim Receipts,' which marked the inception of Saudi paper currency. Since its establishment to the present day, the agency has made six issuances of the Saudi currency.

Over the past decades, the Saudi currency has witnessed commemorative issuances that immortalize important occasions. These include the issuance of two coins to mark the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Saudi Arabia, and a coin commemorating Saudi Arabia's presidency of the G20 summit. Each issuance has been accompanied by changes in the color of the denomination and the image it contains. Notably, the sixth issuance during the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, featured the first polymer banknote.

History of Saudi currency

Before the recapture of Riyadh by the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in 1902, Saudi Arabia existed in a disorganized state regarding monetary transactions. Saudis utilized various methods in their monetary dealings, including bartering, where goods were exchanged directly, alongside the use of diverse foreign currencies. These included the Austrian Taler, commonly referred to locally as the 'Maria Theresien Dollar' or 'Al-Riyal Al-Fransi' (the French Riyal). Additionally, a variety of gold, silver, and copper coins circulated, including those made of copper-nickel alloy, which were particularly prevalent. Among foreign currencies, the British Pound, known colloquially as 'Jineah George' (George's Guinea) or locally as 'Jineah Abu Khiyal' (Guinea of the Horseman) due to its depiction of an equestrian, was notable. Other currencies in circulation included the Rupee and its fractions, the Egyptian Qirsh, as well as currencies from neighboring countries and East Asia, particularly from East India (Indonesia).

King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud aimed to stabilize monetary conditions and reduce the diversity of foreign currencies in local circulation. Prior to 1922, he counter-stamped the word 'Najd' on some of the commonly used and widely circulated currencies. Key currencies affected included the French Riyal and the Indian Rupee, along with various copper coins and Qirsh in circulation at the time. The stamped currencies became the officially recognized currencies at the time.

After King Abdulaziz unified Hejaz with Najd in 1925, he approved the use of some foreign currencies and counter-stamped them with the word 'Hejaz'. One of the rarest of these stamped currencies was the British monetary unit known as the Bronze Penny.

Saudi Arabia previously outsourced the minting of its currency, sending it abroad and receiving irregular batches in return. This was a consequence of the absence of a centralized Saudi monetary authority. Consequently, the exchange value of the Saudi silver Riyal declined, deviating significantly from its market value as a metal on the global stage. Hence, King Abdulaziz saw the need for an agency to manage the government's income, which was growing thanks to oil exports, and to regulate the monetary conditions that had suffered turmoil during that period.

In early 1952, King Abdulaziz approved an American Financial Mission headed by Mr. Arthur N. Young, an Economic & Financial Advisor. The mission was to provide necessary advice on financial and economic matters and assist in the development of Saudi Arabia’s monetary system. Based on the data, the recommendations indicated the establishment of an institution that would oversee financial affairs. After consultation with King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was the Crown Prince at the time, on April 20, 1952, two royal decrees were issued, leading to the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the adoption of the law that defines its duties.

On July 25, 1953, SAMA issued what was known as the Pilgrims’ Receipts, which marked the beginning of the Saudi paper currency. The value of a receipt was ten Riyals. Five million receipts were printed in Arabic, Persian, English, Urdu, Turkish, and Malayan languages. A receipt would keep for the holder the value of Silver Saudi Riyals. This step was widely accepted by pilgrims due to their light weight and ease of carrying. They also became circulated in the local market among merchants and citizens, prompting SAMA to reissue them, along with two new denominations: the SAR5 issue, which was issued the following year 1954, and SAR1, which was issued in 1956.

The Pilgrims’ Receipts contained the following text on the front: "SAMA has issued this receipt to aid the holder in performing the Hajj, enabling easy and swift access to Arab Riyals while staying in Saudi Arabia, without incurring any exchange fees." The left side bore the text: "We confirm that SAMA holds in its treasury in Jeddah a specified amount (as indicated by denomination), upon the request of the bearer of this receipt. This amount is fully redeemable and will be promptly paid upon presentation by the bearer at any of SAMA’s centers." At the bottom are the receipt number and date for the year 1952, along with the signatures of the Governor, Deputy, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. The front also contained the value of the voucher, which was written on the back in several languages: Arabic, English, Urdu, Turkish, Malay, and Persian.

The front of the first issue of the SAR10 denomination featured the emblem of Saudi Arabia at its center, whereas the second issue features a depiction of two sailboats nestled in the harbor of Jeddah. The SAR5 denomination featured an image of a sailing vessel in the port of Jeddah, and the SAR1 note depicted the gate of King Saud's palace in Jeddah.

Saudi monetary laws

Saudi Arabia has witnessed the issuance of four monetary laws until the present time. The first was issued on January 9, 1928, in the official gazette "Umm Al-Qura", before the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (now known as Saudi Central Bank). It was called the "Hejazi-Najdi Currency Law", under which the Arab Riyal was coined. The second law was issued in 1957, while the third was issued in 1957. The fourth law, issued on December 31, 1959, remains in effect to this day. This law authorized the issuance of an official banknote with the status of legal tender. It centralized the printing, minting, and issuance of Saudi currency under SAMA. Additionally, it introduced a decimal system, dividing the Riyal into twenty Qirsh instead of twenty-two.

Saudi Central Bank

The Saudi Central Bank was established during the reign of King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud on April 20, 1952. It represents the second oldest central bank in the Arab world. It was established to regulate the country's monetary conditions, and at that time, it was called the "Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency." On November 24, 2020, a Royal Order was issued to replace the name Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency with Saudi Central Bank, while retaining the same abbreviation (SAMA) by which it was known.

George A. Blowers, a US national, was the first governor of SAMA (currently the Saudi Central Bank). He had previously served as Deputy Director of the Economic Cooperation Administration, set up to administer the US Marshall Plan for economic rejuvenation in Europe. SAMA began its operations five months after its establishment on October 4, 1952, with Jeddah City as its headquarters.

During those years, SAMA opened branches throughout Saudi Arabia. The first branch was in Makkah Al-Mukarramah City on March 26, 1953, followed by the branch in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah on August 19, 1953. The Dammam branch opened on November 7, 1954, followed by Taif branch on January 31, 1955. Finally, a branch was opened in the capital, Riyadh, on February 8, 1955.

Upon its establishment, SAMA's initial responsibilities included stabilizing and bolstering the Saudi currency both domestically and abroad. Furthermore, it was tasked with advising the government on the minting and issuance of coins, as well as supervising the banking sector, which includes banks and currency exchange entities engaged in foreign currency trading. SAMA issued its first coins in 1957, with denominations of one, two, and four Qirsh.

Since its establishment, it has launched six issues of Saudi currency, both coins and banknotes. The first was during the reign of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on June 14, 1961. They included five denominations: SAR100, SAR50, SAR10, SAR5, and SAR 1.

The Saudi Central Bank currently undertakes several tasks and responsibilities, including issuing currency, providing banking services to the government, managing its foreign exchange reserves, managing monetary policy to maintain price stability, in addition to supporting the financial system and ensuring its soundness, monitoring commercial banks, finance companies, cooperative insurance companies, and credit information companies.

Saudi currency issuances

The first Saudi metal currency

With the increasing demand in the local market for a larger quantity of money, King Abdulaziz minted the first issuance of the Saudi currency. These included copper coins for the denominations of a quarter Qirsh and half Qirsh. The front featured the full name of King Abdulaziz written in Tughra style inscription along with the Hijri date of minting (1343 AH / 1925 AD). On the back side, the coins displayed the monetary value of the denomination and the place of minting (Umm Al-Qura).

Due to the increasing demand, in that same year, the king ordered the minting of more coins similar to the previous ones but with some differences in the inscription of the king's name. It was changed to read "Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Faisal" instead of "Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Faisal Al Saud," as it was in the initial batch. In early 1926, he also commanded the minting of more half Qirsh coins.

This time, the coins were minted with a different design. The inscriptions, including the place and date of minting, and the currency value, were distributed in an aesthetic manner on the back. The front bore the name of King Abdulaziz without any of his titles, "Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Faisal Al Saud," and at the bottom, the year (two) indicated the second year of King Abdulaziz's rule after the unification of Hejaz. This issue was considered one of the rarest coins minted in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, as it bore the name "Umm Al-Qura" which did not appear on the coins before this date.

The first saudi paper currency

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