How do you file a SAMA complaint about a bank, and what if it does not solve the problem?
A SAMA complaint is filed through SAMA Cares, the Saudi Central Bank’s complaint system, after you have first complained to your bank and it did not resolve the issue. Banks must handle a customer complaint within 5 working days, so that is the first window to watch.
If SAMA Cares does not settle a complaint against a bank in Saudi Arabia, and you are claiming money or a binding decision, the next step is a claim before the Banking Disputes Committee, filed online with a unified form. Its decisions can be appealed within 30 days.
You can book a consultation on WhatsApp with the team at Al-Safwa Law Firm for Advocacy and Legal Consultations to review your documents and explain your legal options clearly.
Table of Contents
SAMA complaint or banking lawsuit: the three-step route
A complaint against a bank in Saudi Arabia moves through three levels: the bank’s complaints unit, then SAMA Cares if the bank’s answer is late or unsatisfactory, and finally the Banking Disputes Committee when you need a binding decision on money or rights. Each level has its own channel and official timeframe.
The difference matters. A complaint asks a regulator to review how a bank treated you. A claim (lawsuit) asks a judicial committee to decide a dispute and issue an enforceable decision. The table below summarises the route, based on official rules as of November 2026.
| Step | Where | What it can achieve | Official timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bank complaint | The bank’s customer care unit (phone, website, app, email or branch) | Correction, refund or explanation by the bank itself | Handled within a maximum of 5 working days |
| 2. SAMA Cares | Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Consumer Protection | Supervisory follow-up; the bank must answer SAMA | Bank replies within 5, 3 or 2 working days depending on the case |
| 3. Banking Disputes Committee | General Secretariat of the Committees for Banking and Finance Disputes and Violations (online) | A binding, enforceable decision on the dispute | 8-working-day reply cycles; appeal within 30 days of the decision |
Step 1: Complain to your bank first
SAMA expects customers to raise the problem with the bank or finance company first, and to go to SAMA if the institution does not cooperate (SAMA announcement on SAMACares). Under SAMA’s Regulations for Establishing Customer Care Departments in Banks (in force since 15 July 2023), every bank must:
- Accept complaints through at least five channels: a free phone line, the website, mobile apps, email and branches.
- Send you a reference number and the expected handling time by SMS to the mobile number registered with the bank.
- Let you follow the complaint electronically and see the final result.
- Handle the complaint within a maximum of 5 working days from receipt.
Keep the bank’s reference number, the date you complained and any reply. You will need them at SAMA Cares and, later, at the committee.
If the dispute is about a debt the bank says you owe, SAMA’s Debt Collection Regulations and Procedures (Article 6) require the creditor to record your objection, give you a resolution timeframe, stop default reminders until the objection is resolved, and explain how to escalate. A debt collection lawyer can help when the amount itself is contested.
Step 2: How to complain to SAMA through SAMA Cares
SAMA’s Consumer Protection Department receives complaints from individual customers of banks and finance companies (SAMA complaints page). SAMACares also covers payment companies. Complaints against insurance companies no longer go to SAMA: since Cabinet Resolution No. 85 dated 28/1/1445H they go to the Insurance Authority.
Channels for a SAMA complaint
- Online: the “Banks Complaints” or “Finance Complaints” options on SAMA’s complaints page, or the SAMACares website.
- App: the SAMACares app (Arabic and English) on the App Store and Google Play. First-time users create a file.
- Phone: SAMA’s toll-free contact center, listed on SAMA’s contact page.
- X: the @SAMAcares account, for follow-up on an existing complaint.
- In person or by post: SAMA head office, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Street, Riyadh.
Every channel issues a complaint reference number. Use it in all later contact with SAMA.
What to include and attach
- The bank or finance company, the product (account, card, financing, transfer) and the type of problem.
- The bank’s complaint reference number and the date you complained.
- A short, dated account of what happened and what you are asking for (refund, correction, cancellation of a fee).
- Supporting files: statements, screenshots of transactions, SMS alerts, the bank’s reply and the contract or terms where relevant.
How long SAMA Cares takes
SAMA’s SAMACares service levels set how fast institutions must reply, excluding time the complaint waits for you:
- Complaints received directly from customers: within 5 working days of receipt.
- Complaints where your objection to the bank’s reply is accepted: within 3 working days of SAMA’s request.
- Complaints SAMA classifies as high importance: within 2 working days of SAMA’s request.
The bank’s reply to SAMA must explain the result by reference to the relevant instruction, contract or terms, attach supporting documents and confirm that you were informed. SAMA Cares is a supervisory channel. If you still disagree with the outcome and the dispute concerns your money or contractual rights, the decision-maker is the committee.
Step 3: Escalate to the Banking Disputes Committee
The Banking Disputes Committee is a specialised judicial committee. It began as the Banking Disputes Settlement Committee under High Order No. 729/8 dated 10/07/1407H and took its current name under Royal Order No. 37441 dated 11/08/1433H (General Secretariat of the Committees, Arabic). Each circuit has three members and an alternate, at least one of them qualified in Sharia, appointed by Royal Order. Circuits sit in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.
Which disputes it hears
Under Article 2 of its Rules of Procedure, issued by Royal Order No. 712 dated 04/01/1438H, the committee decides original banking disputes and banking disputes that are ancillary to another claim, without overlapping other judicial bodies. In practice this covers:
- Current and savings accounts, including frozen or closed accounts.
- Card disputes: fees, late charges and transactions you did not authorise.
- Transfers and withdrawals you did not approve, or wrongful deductions.
- Bank financing terms, installments and charges.
- Letters of guarantee and letters of credit.
- Compensation for loss caused by a banking error.
A special circuit also hears disputes between parties to payment systems and payment service providers, under Article 14 of the Payments and Payment Services Law (Royal Decree No. M/26 dated 22/03/1443H).
Banking, finance or credit information: which body?
| Your dispute | First-instance body | Appeal goes to |
|---|---|---|
| With a bank, about a banking product or service | Banking Disputes Committee | Appeal Committee for Banking Disputes and Violations |
| With a licensed finance company | Committee for the Resolution of Finance Violations and Disputes | Its own appeal committee |
| Credit information violations | Committee for Reviewing Violations of the Credit Information Law | Board of Grievances |
| General commercial dispute outside these areas | Commercial Court | Court of Appeal |
Where your claim is heard
Territorial jurisdiction follows Royal Order No. 9675 dated 21/02/1442H (territorial jurisdiction rules, Arabic PDF). When one party is a customer, the case goes to the circuit covering the customer’s place of residence, whether the customer sues the bank or the bank sues the customer. Between two banks, the defendant’s location decides.
- Riyadh circuits: Riyadh, Qassim, Hail and Al-Jouf regions.
- Dammam circuits: Eastern Province and Northern Borders.
- Jeddah circuits: Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk, Al-Baha, Asir, Najran and Jazan regions.
How to file a claim with the Banking Disputes Committee
The General Secretariat’s official FAQ sets out the filing steps:
- Download the unified form that matches your dispute from the document library (forms section) of the General Secretariat’s website. There are separate forms, for example for credit cards, ATM transactions and personal financing.
- Fill in the form completely. The Secretariat states that an incomplete form or missing attachments is not accepted.
- Log in to the e-services, follow the steps to create the claim and upload the form and every document it lists.
- The competent team reviews the file. Once accepted, both parties are told by SMS.
- If something is missing, you receive an SMS asking you to complete it within a set deadline.
Under Article 5 of the Rules, a claim may be filed by anyone with standing or an interest, or by their representative, and it counts as registered from the date it is submitted. Notifications are sent by SMS and other electronic means (Article 7), so your mobile number and contact details must be correct.
Statement of claim: what to include
The Secretariat allows the completed unified form to replace a separate statement of claim. If you or your lawyer add a statement, a clear structure helps the circuit:
- Parties: your full name, ID or Iqama number and address; the bank’s name, commercial registration and address.
- Facts: dated, in order: the account or contract, what happened, your complaint to the bank and to SAMA Cares, and their replies.
- Grounds: the contract terms, SAMA instructions or regulations you rely on.
- Requests: specific and measurable, such as refunding a stated amount, cancelling a charge or correcting the account.
- Attachments: ID, contract, statements, correspondence, complaint reference numbers and screenshots.
Help with statement of claim drafting is useful when the facts are long or several products are involved.
What happens after the claim is filed
| Stage | Official period |
|---|---|
| Notifying the defendant of the claim | Within 30 days of registration (Article 10) |
| Defendant’s reply | 8 working days |
| Claimant’s comment on the reply | 8 working days |
| Defendant’s final comment | 8 working days |
| Case preparation, then a hearing date before the circuit | Set by the Secretariat |
| Appeal against the decision | 30 days from receiving the copy of the decision or its readiness, whichever is earlier |
The circuit can appoint an expert (Article 20). Hearings can also be held remotely. Parties may settle at any stage, including through the Banking and Financial Disputes Ombudsman Center launched by the General Secretariat (SAMA news).
For expats, two points matter. If the defendant cannot be notified, the Rules allow notification steps that include suspending government services (Article 8). And when a final decision is not complied with, the circuit may freeze accounts, attach dues held by government bodies, bar dealings with government bodies and banks, or impose a travel ban (Article 33). The FAQ explains how to request a stay of an enforcement decision while a case is pending.
Time limits and appeals
- Five-year limit: the committee will not hear a claim filed more than five years after the amount became due or after you learned of the disputed event, unless it accepts your excuse (Article 21).
- Appeal window: a decision becomes final and enforceable unless appealed within 30 days (Article 28). Official Eid holidays are not counted in that period (Article 31). The appeal is filed from the case page in the e-services with the official appeal form.
- Final level: decisions of the Appeal Committee for Banking Disputes and Violations cannot be challenged before any other body (Article 36 and Royal Order No. 37441).
- Expedited enforcement: a circuit may order immediate enforcement, for example when the decision rests on an admission or a settlement, or when delay would cause irreparable harm (Article 24).
Common reasons a banking claim stalls or fails
Most procedural setbacks come from the same few causes, all avoidable:
- Wrong body: filing a finance company or credit information dispute with the banking committee, or a general commercial dispute that belongs in court.
- Incomplete unified form: missing fields or attachments lead to a deficiency SMS, and the file is not registered until it is complete.
- Missing the hearing: a claimant who does not attend can have the claim struck off; you then have 30 days to ask for it to continue (Articles 14 and 15).
- Time limits: waiting more than five years, or missing the 30-day appeal window.
- Vague requests: asking for “all my rights” instead of a stated amount or a specific correction.
If your dispute is with an insurance company rather than a bank, the route is different: complaints go to the Insurance Authority and claims to the separate committees for insurance disputes and violations.
Frequently Asked Questions about SAMA complaints
A SAMA complaint works best as a documented middle step: the bank first, SAMA Cares next, and the Banking Disputes Committee when you need an enforceable decision. Keeping every reference number, date and reply from the start makes each step faster.
If you are unsure which committee hears your case, or the amount at stake is significant, have the contract, statements and correspondence reviewed before filing.
To get a legal consultation from our team, contact us via the WhatsApp button at the bottom of the screen.
Sources:
- Saudi Central Bank (SAMA): Consumer Protection, complaints (checked November 2026).
- SAMA: Contact us.
- SAMA: launch of the SAMACares app.
- SAMA Rulebook: Regulations for Establishing Customer Care Departments in Banks.
- SAMA Rulebook: SAMACares announcement and unified response form.
- SAMA Rulebook: Debt Collection Regulations and Procedures.
- Rules of Procedure of the Banking Disputes Committee and the Appeal Committee (Arabic PDF).
- General Secretariat of the Committees for Banking and Finance Disputes and Violations: FAQ (Arabic).
- General Secretariat: Appeal Committee for Banking Disputes and Violations (Arabic).
- SAMA: Banking and Financial Disputes Ombudsman Center.
A legal advisor holding a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the prestigious Cairo University. He possesses extensive experience spanning over 25 years in criminal, civil, and family law, during which he has achieved notable accomplishments that have solidified his reputation as a valuable asset to any legal team
