One of the major drivers for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consumers to turn more digital about payments is the global pandemic. People started adopting digital ways (e-wallets, payment links, etc.) to make payments and money transfers.
Moreover, government and regulatory support for the digital payments initiative and the rapid rise of the payment providers in the region have also contributed significantly to setting a digital payment trend in the UAE.
This blog explains the current trends of digital payments to watch in the UAE in 2022 and examines the future of payments in the region.
Digital payments have already started growing in UAE in 2018 as the digitally savvy population of the country realized the convenience of making payments through online banking, mobile wallets, and payment links.
However, after recently introducing the Global Data Privacy Laws in UAE, digital payments found regulatory support to securely make digital payments without tampering with the customers’ data.
As more and more banks and financial services companies adopt financial technology, newer and innovative ways of digital payments are emerging in the UAE, and 2022 will be a year of the ‘Digital Payment Revolution.’
Let’s look at the top five trends in the digital payments industry to look for in 2022 in the UAE.
As a leading country in the digital banking space of all the middle eastern countries, UAE has 97% of consumers willing to try new digital payment methods within the following year. Although the majority of the population in the country uses credit/debit cards to make payments, 88% of the transactions in 2021 in the UAE were contactless.
Data source: https://fintechnews.ae/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/UAE-Fintech-Report-2021.pdf
So, what made the UAE population turn digital suddenly? Well, it was a gradual shift from cash to digital and specific factors, as mentioned below, contributed to changing people’s perspective on how to transact online and remain digitally safe.
The above key drivers of the digital payment landscape in the UAE have set the foundation for the following digital payment trends to watch in 2022:
E-wallets allow you to store, access, use and send money through mobile applications on your phone while also keeping track of all your transactions. Often called mobile wallets, e-wallets are faster, safer, and more convenient ways of digital payments.
E-wallets are revolutionizing the way people send and receive money domestically as well as internationally.
The amount of convenience it offers to consumers makes it the most popular mode of digital payments in 2022 in the UAE.
Also, read 5 reasons to use payit wallet
It is a type of Point of Sale (POS) technology that uses biometric authentication methods to identify the cardholder and process payments. Most commonly, cardholders’ fingerprints are used as biometric payments.
You can place your finger on the device, and the machine will identify whether a card is stored matching your fingerprints placed on the device.
Once the card is recognized, you will have to enter a personal identification number (PIN) to authenticate the payment transaction.
Biometric payments are gaining popularity since it offers more security and frees you from carrying credit/debit cards.
This is also a POS payment type where you can scan the QR codes at the POS terminal that will connect you to the payment gateway and make the payments faster without adding the merchant’s bank details.
QR codes store the merchant’s bank information and integrate the payment details when you scan the code with the merchant’s bank account. Once you scan the code, you can make the payment and approve the transaction.
The entire procedure is faster, smoother, and secure, requiring no cash, card, or physical contact with the POS device.
Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled cards are those credit/debit cards with a specific chip inserted in the card with the wi-fi symbol on it. These cards allow you to make card payments with just a single tap of your card on the POS device.
You do not need to swipe your card nor have to enter any PIN details. NFC-enabled cards are another digital payment trend that is already growing at an accelerated pace.
The payment links are gaining momentum this year, and many service providers are using them. Payment links typically store the payment details as a URL that takes you to another web page to complete the payment transaction.
Apart from the above, virtual cards, digital currencies, etc., are also gaining pace in the UAE. Among all, the mobile wallet is considered one of the most-used digital payment methods.
Download payit e-wallet app and enjoy a bunch of new, truly digital, contactless payment methods such as e-wallets, QR code, sound payments, quick money transfer, e-Dirham instant, and split bills with friends, pay bills, recharge phone balance, school fees payment, etc.