Mastercard's Saudi SME Confidence Index says 75% of small and medium business leaders in the kingdom are confident about the next 12 months, down from a 92% pre-conflict benchmark, while digital payments remain one of the clearest operational priorities in the survey.

The Saudi SME digital payments survey gives Mastercard a payments-growth case, but it also shows a more cautious market after regional tensions.

Mastercard said the 2026 index included a Saudi sentiment pulse designed to track how SMEs are responding to operational and macroeconomic pressure.

Mastercard Says 77% Of Saudi SMEs Accept Online Payments

Mastercard reported that 77% of surveyed Saudi SMEs accept online payments, 67% accept card payments and 54% accept mobile payments.

Mastercard said more than seven in ten small and medium business owners viewed digital payments as a tool for better and faster growth.

The survey also listed the payment areas that businesses see as most useful for future growth.

Mastercard said 73% identified simple and user-friendly payment methods, 58% cited digital payment acceptance across multiple channels and 49% named safe and secure payment processing.

Those figures keep the story inside payments infrastructure rather than broad SME optimism.

The survey points to merchant acceptance, security and omnichannel checkout as the practical areas where payment providers can sell services to Saudi businesses.

The index also links payments to wider SME operating needs.

Mastercard said business owners identified physical and digital security, team upskilling, online selling and payment acceptance as areas where additional support could help growth.

Revenue Growth And Funding Plans Split The Outlook

Mastercard said 67% of Saudi SMEs reported revenue growth over the previous 12 months.

The near-term revenue outlook was weaker: 49% expected revenue to keep growing during the next 12 months, while 61% identified maintaining and growing the business as their main priority.

The index also described a measured funding picture.

Mastercard said 18% of SMEs sought external funding in the past 12 months, 22% were looking for credit to support future growth and 16% were seeking funding to maintain operations.

The funding data is narrower than the confidence headline.

It suggests that most surveyed SMEs were not seeking outside capital during the prior year, even as a smaller share looked for credit or operating support for the next phase.

Onur Kursun, Mastercard's executive vice president for commercial and new payment flows in EEMEA, said digital capabilities and financial access were helping businesses manage short-term pressure.

Adam Jones, Mastercard's West Arabia division president, said the company's Built Small.

Moving Strong programme provides liquidity, tools and backing for SMEs.

Mastercard Does Not Publish The Saudi Sample Size

The research focuses on Saudi SMEs and payment adoption.

Monsha'at, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, said SMEs remain a contributor to innovation, job creation and private-sector growth.

Mastercard also said it has launched a Cyber Resilience Center in Riyadh to support organisations with cybersecurity capabilities and trust in the digital economy.

The survey frames the centre as support for digital transactions, not as evidence of a specific incident-response deployment.

The article did not disclose the Saudi sample size, merchant names, transaction volumes, credit values, cyber centre customer count or measured revenue impact from digital payment adoption.