The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has directed all regional banks and financial institutions to ensure prompt disbursement of salaries and financial support deposited by companies and establishments to their employees without delay.
The Central Bank has sent a circular to all banks and financial institutions, issuing seven directives to prevent delays in salaries and financial support. It also explains the procedures for depositing and transferring these payments across sectors, ensuring employees receive their money on time.
All the local banks' have to comply with these newly issued directives, including:
- Immediate processing of payments: All banks must deposit and transfer salaries and financial support as soon as all necessary data is available.
- Adequate resources: All banks need to have enough qualified staff and technical systems ready to handle salary payments efficiently.
- System monitoring: The banks must constantly monitor their systems during salary transfer periods, and have backup plans in case of technical issues.
- Impact assessment: Any system changes or operations should be checked to ensure they don’t disrupt salary transfers.
- Reporting delays: If there’s any disruption or delay, banks must notify SAMA immediately, explaining the reason and expected resolution time.
- Escalation procedures: All banks must have an internal mechanism to quickly handle problems that could delay payments, and report major issues to SAMA’s Operational Resilience Control department.
- Government salary reporting: The banks must provide detailed reports on government salary payments received via the Central Bank within three business days, including processed transactions, rejected transactions, and responsible contact persons.
The directives also require banks to notify the Central Bank of any disruptions in salary or financial support deposits via a Treasury Support Message through the Saudi Financial Transfer System, explaining the cause of the delay and the expected deposit time. Banks must also submit the necessary reports to the relevant authorities.
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The guidelines call for an internal escalation mechanism to address any issues that may delay salary transfers. Any technical problem that could prevent or slow down deposits must be reported immediately to SAMA’s Executive Department of Operational Resilience Control, including details of the issue and actions taken.
For government salary payments received through the Central Bank, SAMA must be informed of any disruption by 11:00 a.m. on the payment day.
Banks are also required to provide SAMA with detailed reports on government salary payments within three business days, including processed and rejected transactions, along with contact details of the staff responsible for these payments.