INTERVIEW: Digital transformation will remain priority for Egypt amid COVID-19: Visa’s North Africa GM

INTERVIEW: Digital transformation will remain priority for Egypt amid COVID-19: Visa’s North Africa GM

E-payment is one of the sectors that have witnessed a significant boom amid the COVID-19 crisis and the associated lockdown measures that governments adopted to contain the spread of the virus, including working from home and the closure of a number of facilities.

In an exclusive interview, Ahmed Gaber, Visa general manager for North Africa, shared with Ahram Online Visa's expectations for the sector in Egypt in 2021 as well as the E-commerce outlook.

In addition, Gaber told Ahram Online that with 1.7 billion people still without access to banking services, financial inclusion will remain a key priority for policymakers, and 2021 will continue to see the rise of fintech solutions providing financial services to more consumers and expanding payments acceptance.

Ahram Online: How do you see the performance of digital payments in 2020 amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis?

Ahmed Gaber: There is no going back on the evolution we've witnessed within the digital payments industry around the world. The use of contactless and E-commerce payments became part of the public health response to the pandemic and we've seen a growing comfort in the use of digital payments among both consumers and merchants.

Hence, we are seeing expedited