CAIRO  - The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) issued licenses for non-bank financial institutions in the Kingdom for the first time on Thursday, licensing an electronic wallet company and a payment services company.

The move to license financial technology companies was aimed at opening financial services to non-banking actors and supporting development of the national economy, SAMA said in a statement.

The companies licensed were Saudi Digital Payments Company (STCPay) as an Electronic Wallet Company, and GEIDEA Technology Company as a payment services company, SAMA said.

(Reporting By Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) ((ahmed.tolba@thomsonreuters.com; +20223948100;))