7 April 2021 | 12PM GST

How Digital Payments is accelerating E-Commerce Growth in the Middle East

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Why attend

The year 2020 catapulted payments years ahead of where they were projected to be and commerce looks very different in the post pandemic world. We’ve seen the rapid change that can occur in a digital world. Payment options are frequently evolving and competition over payment market share continues to increase.

Consumer payment preferences vary considerably around the world, reflecting an infinite diversity of historical, technical, cultural, economic and regulatory factors. Alternative payment methods like digital wallets are now in the mainstream.

Widespread disruptions created a profound shift in commerce and payments, accelerating the adoption of digital wallets in e-commerce while hastening the decline of cash at the point of sale.

📌 Digital wallets thrive as e-commerce surges
E-commerce exploded in 2020 to post the highest growth rate in five years as home-bound consumers sought alternatives to shuttered brick-and mortar stores. This model will continue to rule the modern world.

📌 Cash bids a hasty retreat amid POS contraction
Point-of-sale felt the impact of COVID-19 most directly, with 2020 global transaction volume falling by 5% from 2019. Disruptions in payment types were as equally dramatic as the reductions in total volume. COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of cash’s decline faster than even the most bullish projections.

📌 MEA e-commerce poised for explosive growth
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) remain among the last frontiers of under-tapped e-commerce potential. MEA consumers turned to e-commerce during the pandemic as demand for groceries, household supplies and personal care soared. Saudi Arabia and the UAE saw among the highest rates of new or increased users for online ordering of restaurant and online grocery deliveries.

On the strength of accelerated momentum in 2020, MEA e-commerce is projected to see 18.8% annual growth through 2024, nearly doubling from U.S.$55 billion in 2020 to U.S.$109 billion in 2024. UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to grow at 20% and 8% respectively.

Looking ahead through 2024, we project digital wallets will gain the most ground, growing 45% to account for over a fifth of e-com spend by 2024. Those gains will come largely at the expense of COD, which is projected to lose over 28%. Cards look to maintain their share dominance, with credit cards making steady gains against other card types and projected to earn more than a third of e-com payment volume by 2024.

The key take-aways

Analyse the recent digital payments and e commerce trends in the Middle East

Investigate the newest modern currency and considerations for entering different markets

Explore smarter insights needed to build a true omnichannel experience

Look at how to create smarter customer experiences by helping you understand which payment methods are popular and which new ones are on the rise

The webinar panel

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Osama Bukhari, Head of Banking Commission | SAUDI INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Gaurav Jain, Head of Loyalty , Segments & Liabilities | BANK ALBILAD

Bader M. Barqawi, Head of Cards Business | BANQUE SAUDI FRANSI

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida. I have served in multiple organizations ranging from Investment Banking all the way to Retail Banking with +13 years of experience mainly focus around Cards, Payments and Digital Banking industry. I have begun my Cards and Payments career in 2010 having the privilege of working with Emirates NBD for 7 years as a Senior Product Manager, followed by The Saudi Investment Bank for 2 years as the Head of Cards Business, and now I lead the Cards Business at Banque Saudi Fransi. With continuous transformation of digital payments, we as industry leaders continue to join forces in elevating the payments landscape and digital transformation to bring optimal value to customers towards a cashless society and best customer experience.

Vineet Karumat, Head of Emerging Payments | BOUBYAN BANK

Vineet has over 10 years of experience in the payments domain encompassing credit, debit & prepaid cards, mobile wallets, tokenization and merchant acquiring. He has been working across India & Middle East and his core competencies have always been on providing innovative consumer-centric solutions in the payments domain.

He is of a firm believer that we are presently entering the golden age of payments revolution, witnessing rapid innovations in the payment domain, with new platforms, providers & payment tools. With all this rapid development in the payment ecosystem, one has to focus on consumer behaviour evolution as well. He is presently working with payment facilitators, Banks, Fintech and others players with the core focus on becoming invisible payment enablers for both consumers and commerce.

He is an alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Sloan School of Management. Bag packing trips, riding motorbikes, indulging in an adventure sport or reading fictions are his preferred choices to unwind.

Mahesh Ramamoorthy, Senior Vice President, International Payments | FIS GLOBAL

Mahesh Ramamoorthy is the Senior Vice President Leading the Cards and Money Movement business vertical across International Markets. As a part of the current role, he runs the GTM / Business / Product Initiatives / Delivery & Operations for markets across Europe / APAC and MEA.

Prior to his current role, he was the Regional Managing Director for APMEA business.

He has led delivery of large and complex programs across the region and more recently has been key in setting up of the Payment as a Service [PaaS] and Banking as a Service [BaaS] for the international markets.

Mahesh holds a Bachelors Degree in Engg., and is a certified Executive Coach [Marshall Goldsmith]. He has worked as Chief Technology officer for large banks enabling successful transformation leading to accelerated growth of the institution. He has worked in the past in senior roles for Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank.

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This webinar is in partnership with

FIS

FIS is a leading provider of technology solutions for merchants, banks and capital markets firms globally. Our employees are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests by applying our scale, deep expertise and data-driven insights. We help our clients use technology in innovative ways to solve business-critical challenges and deliver superior experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a Fortune 500 company and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index.

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