🔦 Track 5: Cashless Payment Solutions for Visitors & Pilgrims

Saudi Arabia is rapidly moving toward a cashless economy as part of Vision 2030. Digital payments, contactless services, and wallets are becoming the norm across the Kingdom.

At the same time, millions of pilgrims and international visitors arrive every year — many carrying only foreign cash, without smartphones, bank accounts, or access to digital banking.

This creates a real-world gap:

A highly digital payment infrastructure
Users who are unable to access it

👉 How can visitors and pilgrims participate immediately, safely, and effortlessly in everyday digital payments?

🚀 The Challenge

This track invites teams to design a simple, inclusive, and secure solution that enables:

Cash-to-digital payment access
Minimal or no onboarding
No dependency on personal smartphones
High usability for first-time, non-digital users

This is not a theoretical problem — it is a live challenge already being addressed by governments, banks, and fintechs, and there is still significant room for innovation.

🌍 Why This Matters

Saudi Arabia is actively promoting cashless payments as part of its economic transformation
Hajj and Umrah bring visitors from 180+ countries, many with limited access to global banking
Even existing solutions (cards, apps, wallets) often remain too complex or inaccessible

Recent initiatives like digital pilgrim wallets, preloaded payment solutions, and blockchain-based cross-border payments highlight how urgent and relevant this topic is — but also show that the problem is far from solved.

🔗 References & Sources

Saudi Arabia’s shift toward a cashless economy (Vision 2030)https://gabrielgtabarani.com/saudi-arabias-cashless-shift-economic-reform-or-digital-risk/
Overview of digital payments in Saudi Arabiahttps://blog.jeton.com/saudi-arabia-payments-guide
Hajj & Umrah scale and international pilgrim flows (World Bank related material)https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/waffle/upload/advertisementAttachment/445313/file.html
Nusuk Wallet – Digital wallet initiative for pilgrims (Saudi Press Agency)https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2115875
WadzPay & Geidea – Digital / blockchain-based payment solutions for pilgrimshttps://www.wadzpay.com/press-releases/wadzpay-and-geidea-team-up-to-reimagine-a-cutting-edge-payments-experience-for-pilgrims
Stablecoin & blockchain payment pilots for Hajj & Umrahhttps://laraontheblock.com/umrahcash-and-saudi-hajj-services-to-offer-stablecoin-payment-solutions/

📝 Note:The references listed above are only a small selection intended to help teams and mentors get an initial understanding of the topic and its relevance.

We strongly encourage creative, bold, and unconventional approaches. Solutions do not need to be limited to existing models or technologies.

Ideas may (and should) also include: