GUIDES6 min read

How to Do a Digital Signature in Riyad Bank

SahlSign Team|

"Digital signature in Riyad Bank" means three different things depending on who is typing it. Some people need to fix the specimen signature the bank keeps on file — the one a teller or card system checks a transaction against. Others want to complete a Riyad Bank product digitally, signing the bank's own contract without a branch appointment. And a third group is holding paperwork connected to the bank but not issued by it — a salary-transfer letter, a lease backing a finance application, an authorization for a relative — and wants to sign it validly online.

Each of these has its own path. Let's take them in order, and be clear about which ones Riyad Bank handles for you and which one it doesn't.

1. Update the signature Riyad Bank has on file

The specimen signature is the handwritten sample the bank recorded when you opened the account. If it's missing or no longer matches how you sign, cheques and certain branch transactions can bounce back for verification.

The Riyad Bank app (which replaced the older Riyad Mobile) includes an Update Customer Information section covering personal data, and Riyad Self Service kiosks handle contact-detail and employer updates. What the bank does not publish is a step-by-step for the specimen signature itself — so treat the in-app route as something to check, not something to count on.

Step 1

Open the Riyad Bank app and log in

Biometric or password login as usual. Head to your profile — the personal-data area sits behind your name or the settings icon, though labels move between app releases.

Step 2

Check Update Customer Information

This is where Riyad Bank groups changes to your recorded details. If your app version exposes a signature option, it will be here, typically confirmed with an OTP to your registered number.

Step 3

No option? Use the branch route

If nothing signature-related appears, the specimen update still runs through a branch (bring your national ID or iqama). Call 920002470 first to confirm what your nearest branch needs.

One tip before you record anything, in the app or on paper at a branch: settle on a signature you can repeat identically, because inconsistency is what triggers verification holds in the first place. If you'd like to design one properly, our free Arabic signature generator turns your name into authentic calligraphic styles (Ruqaa, Naskh) you can practice until it's muscle memory — nothing you type ever leaves your browser.

2. Complete Riyad Bank's own documents digitally

For the bank's own products, Riyad Bank has already moved the signing online. Its personal finance products can be applied for end-to-end through the app and Riyad Online, using the bank's digital-signature flow rather than a wet-ink session at a branch. When a finance request is approved, the promissory note is issued electronically too: you receive an SMS from the Nafith platform (the Ministry of Justice's electronic promissory-note system) and approve it from your phone.

The important mental model: this entire flow belongs to the bank. Riyad Bank decides which products are eligible, runs the identity checks (login credentials, OTP, and Nafith for the promissory note), and holds the certificates behind the signatures. You can't substitute your own signing tool into their process — and you don't need to.

M/18

Royal Decree M/18, Saudi Arabia's Electronic Transactions Law, gives these electronic signatures their legal force — whether the document is the bank's or your own.

3. Sign your own bank-related paperwork

Here's the case neither the app nor the bank's finance flow touches: documents that orbit your banking relationship but were never issued by Riyad Bank. The bank asks for them, receives them, files them — but signing them is entirely your problem.

Paperwork the bank requests but won't e-sign for you

  • Letters and authorizations

    A letter authorizing your spouse or accountant to deal with the bank, an employer's salary-transfer letter, a clearance confirmation for a third party.

  • Contracts supporting a finance file

    The tenancy contract behind declared rental income, the vehicle or property sale agreement behind a finance request, a partnership agreement for a business account.

  • Two-sided documents

    Riyad Bank's flow binds you to the bank and nothing else. An agreement between you and a landlord, seller, or employer needs its own signing ceremony that verifies both parties.

The shortcut everyone tries is dropping a scanned signature image onto the PDF. Legally, that's the flimsiest option available: the image says nothing about who applied it, when, or whether the file was edited a minute later. Under Royal Decree M/18 and the 2022 Law of Evidence, evidentiary weight follows verified signer identity, tamper-evidence, and a documented trail — precisely the things an image lacks.

SahlSign exists for this third case. You upload the document, name the signers (no accounts needed on their side), and each one passes an OTP identity check before signing. The completed PDF ships with a PAdES digital seal, a trusted timestamp, and a bilingual Arabic-English completion certificate — the evidence package Saudi institutions measure against the M/18 standard. Start free from the SahlSign home page, or read the full legal picture on our electronic signature in Saudi Arabia guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is a digital signature legally valid in Saudi Arabia?

+
Yes. Royal Decree M/18 — the Electronic Transactions Law — gives electronic signatures legal effect, and the 2022 Law of Evidence sets out how courts weigh them. Signatures backed by identity verification and tamper-evidence stand in a far stronger evidentiary position than a bare image.

Can I update my Riyad Bank signature without visiting a branch?

+
Check the Update Customer Information area of the Riyad Bank app first — self-service coverage expands with app releases. If no signature option appears in your version, the specimen update is completed at a branch with your national ID or iqama; calling 920002470 beforehand saves a wasted trip.

What is the Nafith SMS I get after a Riyad Bank finance approval?

+
Nafith is the Ministry of Justice's electronic promissory-note platform. When Riyad Bank approves a finance request, the promissory note is issued through Nafith and you confirm it by SMS — it's a legitimate, expected step of the digital finance flow, not a separate product you signed up for.

Will Riyad Bank accept supporting documents signed electronically outside its systems?

+
The bank's own contracts go through the bank's own flow — no way around that, and no need. Supporting documents you supply, like leases, sale agreements, and authorization letters, are yours to execute; what the bank and any court care about is that they're validly signed under Saudi law, which an OTP-verified, sealed e-signature satisfies.
digital signature riyad bankriyad bank signature updatee-signature Saudi ArabiaRiyad Bank app signaturesign bank documents online KSAالتوقيع الرقمي بنك الرياضSaudi ArabiaKSAGCC

Ready to try SahlSign?

Start your free 14-day trial. No credit card required.

Try for Free