Raya Financing Taps Temenos to Drive Shariah-Compliant Expansion in Saudi Arabia

Raya Financing has selected Temenos Core to modernize its operations and support a significant expansion of its financial product suite in Saudi Arabia. The move allows the firm to leverage Shariah-compliant functionality and cloud-native technology to scale its retail and business lending as the Kingdom’s financial sector undergoes rapid diversification under the Vision 2030 initiative.

What was announced

Raya Financing is adopting Temenos Core to replace its existing infrastructure with a centralized, scalable platform. The deployment will take place on a private cloud within Saudi Arabia, ensuring compliance with local data residency requirements while providing the agility needed for rapid product development. The primary objective of the implementation is to streamline transaction processing and unify the management of diverse financing products on a single system.

Currently, Raya Financing focuses on retail finance, leasing, and auto finance. However, the transition to Temenos Core is specifically designed to facilitate a broader product pipeline. This includes the introduction of personal finance, SME finance, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and home finance offerings. By using Temenos’ configurable capabilities, Raya aims to manage these varied lines on a common platform, reducing the need for extensive custom development for each new service as business requirements evolve.

The technology investment aligns with the broader economic shifts in Saudi Arabia. As part of the Financial Sector Development Program under Vision 2030, the Kingdom is pushing for a more efficient and diversified financial ecosystem. Raya’s move to a modern core banking system is a direct response to this evolving regulatory and competitive landscape, enabling the firm to keep pace with the increasing demand for sophisticated Islamic finance products in the Saudi market.

"We selected Temenos as a trusted technology partner with proven experience in Saudi Arabia and a platform that fits our business needs. Temenos Core gives us the flexibility to manage a broader range of financing products, helping us simplify operations, bring new offerings to market more efficiently and keep pace with what our customers in the Kingdom will need next."

Mohammed Makkawi, Chief Information Officer at Raya Financing.

The companies involved

Temenos is a major player in the global banking software market, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol TEMN. Headquartered in Geneva, the company provides cloud-native, AI-driven banking platforms to thousands of financial institutions worldwide, ranging from large global banks to digital challengers and credit unions. Temenos has established a significant footprint in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where its localized Islamic finance modules are a key differentiator in a market governed by Shariah principles.

Raya Financing Company is a specialized financial services provider based in Saudi Arabia. Operating within the Kingdom's expanding non-bank financial sector, the company focuses on providing accessible credit solutions to both individual and corporate clients. While it is a newer name in the international fintech discourse compared to global incumbents, Raya represents the growing wave of Saudi firms seeking to capitalize on the national mandate for financial inclusion and digital transformation. The company’s current focus on auto and retail leasing positions it at the heart of the Kingdom’s consumer credit market.

What FF News has reported before

Temenos has maintained a high level of activity in the global market, with FF News tracking over 280 developments involving the vendor. Recently, the company has seen success in the North American market, where Sound Credit Union Partners with Temenos to Modernize Collections via SaaS. The firm’s digital onboarding capabilities were also recognized when Temenos and Hamilton Reserve Bank Win 2026 IDC Award for Digital Onboarding Excellence.

Beyond core banking, Temenos has focused on ecosystem integration, as seen when Prove Pre-Fill® Now Available on Temenos Exchange, Delivering Seamless Onboarding to Banks Worldwide. This focus on customer experience is timely; FF News recently highlighted research suggesting European Banks Risk Losing 75% of Customers Over AI and Personalization Gaps, a trend that underscores the global pressure on institutions to modernize their tech stacks.

What this means

This deal highlights the intensifying competition in the Saudi Arabian non-bank financing sector. As Vision 2030 drives the Kingdom toward a digital-first economy, legacy systems are becoming a liability for firms trying to launch agile products like BNPL or SME lending. Temenos’ success here puts pressure on other core banking providers who lack deep localization for Shariah-compliant modules. For the industry, it raises a critical question: as more regional players move to private cloud environments, how quickly will the regulatory framework evolve to support full public cloud adoption? The move signals that for Saudi finance companies, the "wait and see" period for digital transformation is over.