On December 23, 2014 I received an SMS to my mobile stating that a transaction amounting to $1,314.52 had been declined as a charge against my MasterCard due to an insufficient balance on the card. I was horrified. I quickly called Banque Saudi Fransi and asked that my Internet MasterCard be stopped as it had been compromised. The charge of $1,314.52 was made at “JadoPado,” an online UAE business and I hadn't been the one making the purchase. The MasterCard, which I was calling the bank to stop and reissue, was a special credit card, for use only in making Internet purchases. It had a very low credit limit of just SR1800, which was perfect for online shopping. It was my favorite credit card. What happened next even now I can scarcely believe. First, the Banque Saudi Fransi call center agent began questioning me as to why I thought the charge was fraudulent, since their system didn't indicate any problem with the charge. Once I had convinced the agent that the card had been compromised, he advised me, “If I stop this MasterCard, that's it. This account will be closed and we won't issue a new card.” That was quite surprising since the card was valid until 2016. The agent went on to explain that the bank had discontinued Internet Mastercards and had decided not to replace them in case of any fraud or loss. He asked me if I was sure that I wanted to stop the card. Who would have ever imagined that an agent of a bank would suggest not cancelling a compromised credit card? Faced with a tough choice, I did the right thing and insisted that the MasterCard be stopped. The next day I went to a branch of Banque Saudi Fransi thinking that face to face I could sort out the issue. Instead, the situation got worse. First, I was told that the credit card was truly cancelled. Surprised, I asked that a Visa credit card that I had at the bank be activated. That credit card had a SR30,000 limit. But then, that Visa credit card was cancelled. Why? Because even though I had paid the annual fee for the card for years, I hadn't activated and used it. Thus, the bank's policies demanded that the Visa account be canceled. I was invited to apply for a new credit card and it was suggested that one be requested with a low balance of just SR5,000, so I would feel comfortable using it online. I gathered all the documents required and put in my application. It was rejected. In an explanation from Banque Saudi Fransi, which they declined to put in writing, it was pointed out to me that since I had other high value credit cards at another bank, the Saudi Monetary Agency's (SAMA) guidelines prohibited me from being issued with a new low limit credit card – or in fact a new credit card of any kind. I protested! I didn't have any charges at all on those credit cards and if I made charges I paid the balance in full monthly. Checking with the Saudi consumer credit reporting agency, SIMAH, would show that I had an excellent credit history. I had paid off my mortgage in seven years. I had six telephone lines. I had three active credit cards and in 20 years I had never missed a payment on any utility bill or bank fee. How could I be declined for a measly SR5,000 credit card? It turns out that consumers in Saudi Arabia are treated as certain defaulters at all times by SAMA and the Saudi banks. Consumers in the Kingdom can only be issued with credit cards where the total of the five percent balance due monthly on any and all cards does not equal more than 33.34 percent of the person's salary as registered with GOSI. It does not matter that the available credit line isn't used or that if it is used it is paid monthly. It is assumed that all Saudi consumers will eventually charge the maximum on their credit cards, getting themselves into financial difficulty that requires a payment of one third of their salary to the local banks in credit card payments stretching over years. Banque Saudi Fransi stated that the only exception to this policy would be if the bank account holder had a six month bank balance of SR100,000 or an average annual balance of SR500,000. In such cases the account holder could be issued with SR25,000 and SR75,000 credit card limits, respectively. It does not matter that the act of holding such an amount of money in a bank account where it earns nothing indicates a high level of financial stupidity. Those are the rules. So what to do? As more transactions shift from physical to digital, the ability to pay with plastic is essential. With Saudi banks being far from consumer friendly, just pick up your cash and go elsewhere – offshore or to another national jurisdiction. After all, it is a connected world and credit cards issued in one country work just fine in another. In the USA, I have a credit rating over 700 and I found that financial entities there would be delighted to give me a credit card that even comes with anti-fraud protection; something that Saudi banks don't offer. It does take time and work to get a credit rating established, but it's smart to have your credit worthiness under your own control.
