UAE consumers, SMBs ahead of peers in digital-first mindset

UAE consumers, SMBs ahead of peers in digital-first mindset

UAE - Small and medium businesses (SMBs) as well as consumers in the UAE are more digitally savvy and future-ready than their peers globally, a study has revealedBy the end of 2020, nearly all SMBs surveyed in the UAE, or 97 per cent, compared to the global average of 83 per cent, had embraced new forms of digital technology to meet changing consumer behaviors, a Visa study shows.The "Visa Back to Business Study - 2021 Outlook,“ conducted in the UAE, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, and the United States, found that both the continued SMB shift towards digital commerce and changing consumer payments habits show few signs of reversal as the calendar advances into 2021.Looking ahead to 2021, SMBs are assessing what other payment technologies are critical to meeting today's consumer expectations, with results led by security and fraud protection (54 per cent) and allowing installments for online payments (49 per cent, compared to 35 per cent globally, the most of all markets surveyed), Visa said in its survey report that highlights how a digital-first mindset will help power business forward and win consumer mindshare in 2021.The UAE already ranks first in the Arab region and is