MasterCard's Maria Medvedeva joins The 966 to talk payments, fintech and more; plus more on Leyja at Neom

The 966

In Episode 110, Maria Medvedeva, Vice President, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for MasterCard joins to discuss the company’s KSA strategy, fintech, payments, innovation, and her experiences living and working in a changing and evolving Saudi Arabia. Maria, based in Riyadh with her family, is responsible for Mastercard's growth strategy and delivering innovative payment experiences for consumers and merchants.

Before the discussion with Maria, the hosts discuss Richard’s One Big Thing, which is Saudi Arabia’s recent adoption of the Gregorian calendar for all official business going forward. Saudi Arabia has approved the use of the Gregorian calendar for all official dealings, except those related to the provisions of Islamic Shariah where the calculation of periods will continue to be based on the Hijri calendar. The Kingdom has traditionally prioritized the Hijri calendar with the Gregorian used as a secondary measure. However, some official and legal activities had already been aligned with the Gregorian calendar before Tuesday’s ruling.

Then the host discuss Lucien’s One Big Thing, which is the announcement of key details surrounding Neom’s new destination, Leyja. The mountainous wellness resort joins Trojena and Sindalah as tourism locations for Neom, and new photos and a video released of the designs of the area are fascinating. One of the details announced this week is that Habitas, the luxury hotel management company who Lucien notes has created a masterpiece experience in Al Ula, having recently stayed at that resort. Habitas Neom will likely be something for many people’s bucket list, when completed.

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.