Cashless payments are growing faster than expected

Cashless payments are growing faster than expected in the UAE in the wake of the pandemic crisis, said Abdulaziz Alnuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Economy, at the second Digipay Summit.

“The increasing shift in digital payments is associated with the efficiency of the country's infrastructure on the regulatory framework and the reflection of the growing confidence among consumers and businesses in the UAE,” he said.

“The launch of UAE’s digital government strategy is to ensure that the UAE government is digitised by design. This strategy is set to integrate all capacities, structures and opportunities,” said Alnuaimi.

Meanwhile, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has ranked the UAE as the third-best country worldwide with regards to digital services’ rank and adoption.

Also, Cashless Countries report by a UK based price comparison website ranks the UAE as the eighth most cashless society in the world. According to the report, the UAE is likely to become the first cashless country in the Middle East, with around 83 per cent of the UAE’s population owning a debit card. There are four major e-wallets in operation in the UAE.