NEWS
SAP CEO says artificial intelligence will
accelerate Saudi Vision 2030
transform government services in smart
cities. Neom is an excellent example
of true innovation integrated into city
infrastructure, enabling autonomous
vehicles, smart buildings and new mobile
services that will improve the lives of
Saudi citizens.
“Saudi Millennials are part of the best-
connected generation in history. The
workplace of the future will bring careers
we can’t even imagine yet. SAP supports
the digital ambitions of the kingdom to
equip today’s youth with the digital skills
to unleash their potential and achieve
their dreams.”
D
uring a visit to Riyadh, SAP CEO Bill
McDermott welcomed the kingdom’s
bold use of artificial intelligence to help bring
the national development goals of Saudi
Vision 2030 to life.
AI will serve as the foundation for Neom, a
smart city located in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk
region. “Artificial intelligence is central
to Saudi Vision 2030,” said McDermott.
“With careful foresight, it will significantly
SAP recently announced a four-year SAR
285 million investment plan for the SAP
Cloud Hub and MoU with the National
Digitisation Unit. SAP’s Training and
Development Institute plans to build
skills in the Middle East and North Africa
worth US$100 million by 2022.
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Ripple and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority
offer pilot programme for Saudi Banks
R
ipple has signed an agreement with
the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority
(SAMA) to support banks in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia (KSA) to explore Ripple’s cross-
border payments technology.
Together, SAMA and Ripple have created a
pilot programme to provide support to KSA
banks to use xCurrent, Ripple’s enterprise
software solution that enables banks to
instantly settle cross-border payments with
end-to-end tracking.
The first of its kind to be launched by a
central bank, the pilot programme will allow
participating KSA banks to use xCurrent for
cross-border payment payments.
SAMA will support KSA banks with program
management and training. With xCurrent,
KSA banks can process cross-border
payments in seconds, with end-to-end
visibility over the journey of the payment, at
a low cost.
www.intelligentcio.com
Dilip Rao, global head of infrastructure
innovation, Ripple, said: “Central banks
around the world are leaning into
blockchain technology in recognition
of how it can transform cross-border
payments, resulting in lower barriers to
trade and commerce for both corporates
and consumers. SAMA is leading the charge
as the first central bank to provide resources
to domestic banks that want to enable
instant payments using Ripple’s innovative
blockchain solution.”
INTELLIGENTCIO
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