Consumer demand and government involvement set to boost digital payments in Middle East – The National

Consumer demand and government involvement set to boost digital payments in Middle East – The National

Consumer demand and government involvement will boost the Middle East’s digital payments industry over the next few years and narrow the gap with other developing markets, a senior official at Amazon Payment Services said.

While there is a significant chasm between the region and markets such as the US and western Europe in terms of using cashless means of payments as a primary mode of transaction, the Middle East’s pace of acceleration — at 25 per cent year-on-year — is a signal of readiness and increased opportunities for FinTech providers, managing director Peter George told The National in an interview ahead of Seamless Middle East 2022, the payments industry summit taking place in Dubai this week..

“Ultimately, we still have a long way to go to where the US and parts of Europe are,” he said.