The first paper currency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was issued during the reign of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud. It had a value of SAR0.5 and featured the inscription: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Finance, I hereby promise to pay upon request to the bearer of this note SAR0.5." The note bore a serial number, along with the name and the stamp of the Deputy Minister of Finance.
The first official issuance of paper currencies was under the Currency Law issued by Royal Decree No. 6 on December 30, 1960, during the reign of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The currency was introduced to trading on June 14, 1961, and included five denominations: SAR100, SAR50, SAR10, SAR5, and SAR1. Since then, the Saudi riyal has continued to be minted and printed with new versions with all kings of the Kingdom.
The first formal monetary regulations in the Kingdom traced back to a Royal Order issued by King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in 1928, which outlined the country's monetary policy. At that time, the Saudi riyal had to be exclusively used, eliminating the use of other currencies. This led to the need for re-minting coins of all denominations in 1930. Subsequently, several royal decisions followed, including the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (now the Saudi Central Bank) in 1952, which was initially headquartered in Jeddah Governorate before moving to the capital city, Riyadh.
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