The “State of Payments in the Arab World” report offers data and analysis on the region’s payment trends and consumer buying habits. The study identifies ‘Events and Entertainment’ as the fastest growing payments sector showing an annual 33% growth from 2015 to 2016.
The report also focuses on attitude towards new fintech products and services, a segment which still has plenty of room to grow in the region. For example, 17% of those surveyed in the UAE are looking for new and better alternatives to send international money transfers. E-wallets also have a big potential in the region, as over half of those surveyed adopted the technology.
A total of USD 30.4 billion of goods and services were purchased online in the seven countries during 2016, increasing 22% on the USD 24.9 billion of payments during 2015. The top countries in terms of dollar value and growth in value were the UAE with USD 12.4 billion of transactions and 21% annual growth in total amount paid online; Saudi Arabia with USD 8.3 billion of transactions and 27% growth; and Egypt with USD 6.2 billion of transactions and 22% growth.
Egypt led the region in online shopping which increased by 32% in the volume of payments. UAE and Saudi Arabia were the fastest growing countries in the travel and entertainment sectors, showing 21% and 36% growth respectively.
Security is the main concern consumers have when shopping online. Because of this, cash-on-delivery still has a large market share, being the preferred payment method of more than 50% of those surveyed. Many would only switch to online payments if they were convinced that the payment method was secure.
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