UAE consumers opt for cards over cash, survey finds

Consumers across the UAE are growing increasingly more comfortable with using cards for their transactions, both in-store and online, with 84 per cent reporting that they find cards more secure than cash, a survey has found.
Visa and the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai surveyed consumers across the UAE regarding the security of digital payments both online and in-store. According to the survey findings, 73 per cent of online shoppers prefer paying by card driven by factors such as security, budget management, and spend rewards. In addition, 87 per cent of the respondents claimed to have started making more card payments online in the past two years.
For in-store transactions, security, convenience, and budget management were identified as being the top three drivers for consumer preference. The survey findings also noted that 82 per cent of respondents trust digital wallets and 75 per cent trust contactless cards.
Ahmad Al Zaabi, director of Consumer Protection in the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector, DED, said: "Consumer confidence and trust in online shopping has significantly increased over the last few years, and in the coming years it is only going to expand further thanks to the rising adoption of digital wallets, arrival of better security technologies and modernisation of e-commerce platforms. We are delighted to see our efforts with Visa translating into tangible outcomes and promoting digital commerce, particularly when Dubai reaffirms itself as a shopping destination of choice and accelerates its transition to a Smart City."
An important finding of the survey showed that offering card payment options (mobile POS) upon product delivery could help with converting Cash on Delivery (COD) customers into digital payers. According to the survey, 92 per cent of those customers preferring COD would pay by card if a mobile POS machine was available upon delivery.
Visa's survey also provides insights on how online merchants can tackle consumer security concerns and encourage more shoppers to use their sites. Consumers noted that the visibility of logos of payment providers & trust badges; strong customer service; displaying customer reviews; and displaying SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates on the sites are all factors that secured their trust when shopping online.
Neil Fernandes, Visa's head of Risk for the Middle East and North Africa, said: "At a time when businesses and consumers are becoming more digital and the impact of new technologies is felt by everyone everywhere, security must remain at the forefront. If digital commerce is the way ahead then consumers need to feel secure about using it. One of the ways we are doing this is by continuing with our mission of educating consumers on digital payments and making them aware of the multi-layered security that is in place to protect their card data. We are delighted to see our efforts paying off as evident with the positive results of our survey indicating improvement in consumer confidence in transacting digitally using digital wallets and contactless cards."
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com