ALBAWABA – King Salman directed the government of Saudi Arabia to extend the Citizen Account Program, as is, in April 2023, with temporary additional support for program beneficiaries, until July 2023.
The program started in February 2017.
As of August 2022, 10.9 million people in Saudi benefit from the citizen account program, the Saudi Gazette reported.
Overall, 2.2 million households benefit from the program, in addition to 233,000 individuals.
This latest directive included the allocation of SAR20 billion ($5.33 billion), with SAR8 billion ($2.13 billion) as additional financial support for program.
Total allocations since 2017 exceeded SAR123 billion ($32.79 billion), according to the Saudi Press Agency.
On average, as per the government’s statement, 76 percent of the program’s beneficiaries received SAR1,919 ($511.65) per household, on average, per month.
The citizen account is a government support program to help reduce the burden on low-income individuals during the implementation of economic reforms.
Functionally, the aim of the program is to maintain the purchasing power of low-income families in Saudi on one hand and maintain food security on the other.
How does the citizen account program work
The government decides the minimum expenditure requirement.
At a monthly income of SAR7,799 ($2,079.70) per month, the average Saudi household is not saving money, according to a 2022 study by Asian Development Policy Review on the program’s impact. This is the baseline or point-zero upon which the allocations are decided.
At this level, the average household is neither in need of assistance nor able to save.
In cases where income falls below that level, the Saudi household will not be able to meet its needs from various consumer product groups.
The government then calculates the average income of low-income families in Saudi and the difference between the average income and the minimum expenditure level. The result is factored into the equation upon which the monthly support allocations for households are decided.
How to benefit from the citizen account program
To benefit from the program, citizens need to register with the program online, and then qualify for the support.
After registration, the program examines the applications to ensure data validity then proceed to the qualification stage, and those qualified are notified via text messages.
Finally, the allowance, or support amount, is declared for each qualified citizen, and then issued before the next price hike.
Qualifying for the citizen account program
There are five main criteria that applicants have to meet to qualify for the Saudi citizen account program:
The applicant must have obtained Saudi nationality and residency rights in Saudi Arabia within the year prior to submitting their application.
The applicant must be over 18 years old at the time of application.
Bachelors must live alone without a family.
The bachelor's monthly income should not exceed SAR6,000 ($1,599.97).
The applicant must not benefit from any of the other support programs Saudi.
