The latest publication from Hamburg-based market research company yStats.com titled “Middle East Online Payment Methods 2023” shares insights into the online payment methods market in the Middle East, analyzing and summarizing the important figures, forecasts, and trends. The publication reveals that cards are still the preferred online payment method in Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Card-based payments are leading, with alternative payment methods on the rise in the Middle East
Digital payment adoption is generally high in countries such as the UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, where around 7 to 9 in 10 adults made digital payments in 2022. In contrast, Jordan displayed a lower double-digit share, indicating a variance in digital payment development and adoption within the region, according to a new publication by yStats.com.
The breakdown of payment methods used for online shopping in Saudi Arabia was fairly balanced, with cards being the most popular, followed by alternative payment methods. In Israel, cards constituted a significant portion of total online payments, followed by e-wallets. Additionally, the card payments market in Saudi Arabia is projected to experience a double-digit CAGR by 2027. Consequently, card payments continue to be one of the dominant online payment methods in the Middle East, while digital wallets accounted for approximately one-fifth of the overall online spending in the MENA region in 2023.
Real-time payments expected to grow at double-digit CAGR
While card-based payments lead the online payments market in major Middle Eastern countries, alternative payments rank second in various nations, as indicated in yStats.com’s latest report. With the increasing adoption of alternative payments, real-time payments are also seeing a surge in usage. In Saudi Arabia, the number of real-time payment transactions is projected to more than triple between 2022 and 2027, displaying a double-digit CAGR. Furthermore, in the UAE, real-time payment transactions are expected to nearly quadruple during the same period, showing an even higher double-digit CAGR.
