- What
- Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided.
- Who
- Capital markets, WealthTech and investment platform companies.
- From abroad
- Open to companies from abroad — Applicant, including foreign companies, must establish a legal entity in the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) to commence the FinTech activity All programmes open to founders from abroad →
Checked · October 2026 · cma.gov.sa/en/Market/fintech/Pages/default.aspx · How we check ↗
In detail
CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit) is a regulatory sandbox in Saudi Arabia. Capital Market Authority FinTech Lab — an experimental environment granting FinTech ExPermits to test capital-market products. Open to local and international firms; applications accepted year-round. Hard gate: the product must involve securities activity and be at a sufficiently advanced stage of development for a live test.
- Amount
- Regulatory permission to test
- Eligibility
- Capital markets, WealthTech, investment platforms
- Sectors
- WealthTech, Investment Tech, Capital Markets
- Status
- Open — applications accepted year-round (checked October 2026)
Is this for you?
Where is your company?
Are you open to giving equity?
We match them against what CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit) publishes.
A guide to the published criteria, not a decision — the programme selects.
What the source says
“the applicant - Including foreign companies- must establish the legal entity in the Kingdom to start commencing the FinTech activity.”
“The FinTech Lab at the CMA serves as a regulatory experimental environment that enables fintech products and services to test their innovative business models within defined standards, timelines, and regulatory requirements, under the CMA's supervision.”
“The Lab receives applications from local and international firms for permits to test financial products and services related to securities activities that meet market needs through innovative business models ready to be tested in an experimental environment.”
“The CMA welcomes applications for obtaining a permit to experiment with The FinTech Lab throughout the year and reviews and evaluates them in accordance with the Financial Technology Experimental Permit Instructions and the approved procedures and criteria.”
“1- It must involve securities activity.”
“3-It is at a sufficiently advanced stage of development to mount a live test FinTech.”
Closing soon on the map
No published deadline in the next 30 days · All published deadlines →
Compare government programmes in Saudi Arabia
| Cost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit)Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided. | not published | No equity | Open |
| KAUST UniversityR&D grants (NextEra), TAQADAM non-dilutive funding up to $140K, KIV equity $100K–$700K. | $100K–$700K | Equity or convertible note | Open |
| MCIT — Ministry of CommunicationsAccess to CODE programmes: Tech Founders, incubation and CODE Nine 66. | not published | Not published | Active |
| MISA — Ministry of InvestmentInvestor registration, entrepreneur registration and RHQ programme access. | not published | No equity | Active |
| Premium Residency — Entrepreneur TrackResidency for founders with a round of SAR 400K+ (20% share) or SAR 15M+ (10% share). | not published | No equity | Active |
| SAMA FinTech SandboxRegulatory permission to test fintech and insurtech products. | not published | No equity | Active |
| SHIFT Innovation Center RiyadhInnovation hub with the Digi X-Lab data and AI facility. | not published | No equity | Active |
| Cloud Computing SEZCST-supervised zone: onboarding support and incentives for data centres nationwide. | not published | No equity | Active |
| Cybersecurity Accelerator (National Cybersecurity Authority)Government accelerator for cybersecurity startups; financial support is a goal. | not published | Not published | Closed |
| MEWAMentorship, access to funding and technical assistance. | not published | Not published | Closed |
| Monsha'atLoan guarantees and programme support for SMEs. | not published | Not published | Active |
| PIF Startup EcosystemNot a direct-application fund — invests in funds rather than startups. | not published | Indirect | Active |
| SDAIASaudi AI authority; runs the GAIA generative AI accelerator. | not published | Not published | Active |
| Tourism Development Fund (TDF)Tourism fund: MSME loans via partner banks and lenders, plus a non-financial accelerator. | not published | Loans | Active |
No programmes match these filters.
Highest amount in each programme’s own “What” line. Other currencies converted for sorting only (Gulf pegs; KWD, EUR, GBP approximate).
All government programmes in Saudi Arabia → · Across the Gulf →
More programmes that take no equity →
Questions founders ask
What does CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit) offer?
Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided.
Does CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit) take equity?
No equity — service or permission.
Can founders from abroad apply?
Open to companies from abroad — Applicant, including foreign companies, must establish a legal entity in the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) to commence the FinTech activity.
Is there a deadline?
No closing date is published; applications are open.
How do I apply?
Through its own application form — the Apply button on this page goes straight there.
Sources
Primary source · cma.gov.sa/en/Market/fintech/Pages/default.aspx · LinkedIn · linkedin.com/company/capital-market-authority · Checked October 2026