Ecommerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is growing, driven by advancements in digital payments, mobile adoption, and financial inclusion. As consumers explore new ways to pay and shop internationally, merchants have significant expansion opportunities. However, navigating the complexities of this market requires more than offering products – partnering with a knowledgeable payment provider is essential to overcoming the challenges of expanding into MEA.
MEA’s ecommerce growth is fuelled by a tech-savvy, increasingly mobile population. In Saudi Arabia – the largest market in this region – ecommerce is expanding alongside digital payment adoption. In the UAE, ecommerce sales are projected to rise from USD 10.3 billion in 2023 to USD 16.3 billion by 2027, with mobile devices accounting for 76% of these transactions. Moreover, alternative payment methods (APMs), such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and mobile wallets, are gaining momentum, providing new opportunities for merchants to attract and retain customers.
Financial inclusion is progressing significantly in other parts of MEA. Egypt has seen a notable increase in account ownership, from 37.8% to 52.8% over the past decade. This highlights the broader adoption of digital payment services, enabling more consumers to engage in the digital economy.
Meanwhile, cross-border ecommerce is thriving, accounting for 58% of online sales in the UAE in 2023, and expected to rise to 62% by 2027. These trends show the increasing demand for ecommerce solutions across local and international markets.
Diverse payment preferences: merchants must offer multiple payment options to meet consumer expectations. Without this flexibility, they risk limiting their customer base and missing significant sales opportunities.
Cross-border payments complexity: cross-border transactions are a major growth area, especially in countries like the UAE, where over half of ecommerce sales are from international customers. Managing cross-border payments can be complicated due to currency conversion, varying regulations, heightened fraud risks, and lower authorisation rates. Merchants often face challenges in optimising payment acceptance rates for cross-border customers and resolving this requires a streamlined payment system that minimises friction.
Fraud risk in emerging markets: as MEA ecommerce markets grow, the risk of fraud becomes a critical concern. Emerging markets are often more vulnerable to fraud due to varying security infrastructure and awareness levels. Fraudulent activities can lead to significant financial losses and erode consumer trust, making it a challenge that merchants must address head-on.
The importance of localised solutions: localisation is critical for success in MEA. Merchants must tailor checkout pages to local preferences, offering translations, trusted payment methods, and local currencies (41 different currencies are used in Africa alone). This builds trust and improves conversion rates, especially for cross-border transactions where payment friction can affect sales.
To successfully expand into MEA, partnering with an experienced payment provider is essential – they offer localised solutions and advanced technology to overcome the challenges of the region:
APMs and local expertise: a strong payment partner integrates local APMs, contactless point-of-sale (POS) systems, and emerging technologies to meet region-specific needs. Merchants expanding into Saudi Arabia should support MADA, the country’s domestic card network, while those entering the UAE should prepare for Jaywan, the soon-to-launch local scheme. In South Africa, PayShap will drive real-time, secure transactions, boosting financial inclusion. Open Banking is gaining momentum, offering consumers more payment options and access to financial services. Optimising payment flows is also essential for ensuring smooth transactions, reducing friction, and improving acceptance rates – helping merchants maximise conversions and enhance customer experience.
Seamless ecommerce cross-border payments: this involves addressing currency conversion and settlement, regulatory differences, and fraud risk. Some payment providers also offer solutions like payment orchestration, which automates payments routing and ensures compliance across multiple markets, reducing friction for international customers and allowing merchants to capitalise on the demand for global goods.
Advanced fraud prevention: leading payment providers use AI-driven fraud detection for real-time transaction monitoring, minimising risks while maintaining a seamless shopping experience. The smart usage of 3-D Secure (3DS) can balance fraud reduction with minimal customer friction, ensuring security without disrupting the checkout process. With the region’s ecommerce growth, especially mobile ecommerce, protecting against fraud is critical for consumer trust.
A luxury UAE retailer struggled with low payment approval rates due to an under-optimised payment system. By partnering with Nuvei, the retailer implemented smart routing and customised 3-D Secure rules, increasing approval rates from 60% to over 90%, reducing declined transactions, boosting revenue, and enhancing customer satisfaction. This highlights the importance of working with an expert provider who understands local payment systems.
MEA’s ecommerce market offers vast opportunities, but merchants looking to expand must navigate a complex landscape of payment preferences and cross-border challenges. Partnering with expert payment providers that offer tailored solutions is key to success in this region.
This editorial piece was first published in The Paypers' Global Ecommerce Report 2025, which provides a complete overview of key trends and strategies to help businesses worldwide succeed. Download your free copy today to explore in-depth insights on global ecommerce trends, the latest innovations in payment solutions, and strategies to stay ahead in a competitive market.
Imri Meir is the SVP of Global Expansion at Nuvei, bringing over 22 years of experience in the payments industry. He has been with Nuvei for seven years, starting as VP of Product. Before this, he held key roles, such as Director of Payments Risk and Fraud at William Hill, and worked in the payments division at 888.com. Earlier in his career, he was a QA and Product Manager at Cyota.
Nuvei is a Canadian fintech company accelerating the business of clients worldwide. Nuvei’s technology allows companies to accept next-gen payments, and benefit from card issuing, banking, and risk and fraud management services. Connecting businesses to their customers in more than 200 markets, with local acquiring in 50 markets, 150 currencies, and 716 APMs, Nuvei provides the technology and insights for customers and partners to succeed locally and globally with one integration.
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