Barq Surges Past 10 Million Users, Dominates Saudi Fintech Revolution

Editorial Team

Last updated 2-01-2026

3 min

Barq rapidly gained popularity, reaching one million users in just 21 days.

The digital wallet surpassed 10 million users within 17 months, a massive feat.

Saudi Arabia's e-payments sector soared from SR9 billion in 2020 to SR315 billion by 2024.

Barq's mobile-first design and SAMA licence attract both consumers and businesses.

Its growth aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, boosting financial inclusion and cashless transition.

Saudi Arabia’s fintech scene has been buzzing for a while now, but every so often a name pops up that seems to sprint ahead of the rest. barq is one of those. The digital wallet has shot to the front of the pack across the region, not just by user downloads but by how quickly people actually started using it. I remember chatting with a group of early‑stage founders at an Arageek community meetup last spring, and someone joked that barq had “gone from zero to everywhere” before they’d even finished refining their pitch decks. It sounded like an exaggeration at the time… but looking at the numbers now, they were spot on.

The app crossed the one‑million‑user mark in only 21 days, which is practically unheard of for digital wallets in this part of the world. And it didn’t stop there. Within its first year it had more than seven million users, climbing past the 10‑million mark just 17 months after launch. For context, that’s about a third of Saudi Arabia’s population — a scale most fintechs can only dream of, and definately not the kind of growth you stumble into by accident.

This surge sits neatly within a much bigger story unfolding in the Kingdom. Over the past four years, the value of Saudi Arabia’s e‑payments sector has ballooned from roughly SR9 billion in 2020 to nearly SR315 billion (around $84 billion) by the end of 2024. It’s a staggering leap. And believe it or not, that wave didn’t lift all boats equally. market indicators show that barq has been one of the biggest winners, pulling ahead of regional competitors in user acquisition speed.

Part of its appeal, I reckon, is the mobile‑first design that caters not just to everyday consumers but also to small and medium‑sized businesses — the backbone of so many MENA economies. And the fact that it operates under a licence from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) probably reassures users who might still be a bit wary of storing money on an app. Trust doesn’t come easy in fintech; anyone who has tried convincing an older relative to ditch cash knows it can be a bit of a faff.

On the flip side, the timing couldn’t have been better. As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with Vision 2030, the shift toward cashless living is accelerating. barq’s rapid rise places it right in the middle of that transition, strengthening financial inclusion and improving how money moves across borders. It’s the kind of growth that hints at a fintech ecosystem maturing fast — faster, in fact, than many expected even a couple of years ago.

And for those of us at Arageek who spend plenty of time around founders, it’s always interesting to watch how one breakout story can energise the entire scene. If barq keeps this pace, the region might just have a new heavyweight shaping the next phase of digital finance.

🚀 Got exciting news to share?

If you're a startup founder, VC, or PR agency with big updates—funding rounds, product launches 📢, or company milestones 🎉 — AraGeek English wants to hear from you!