A report by PayFort observed a growth of 23.3% in the activity of electronic payments last year. PayFort’s annual report for e-payments in the Arab region noted that usage of electronic payments grew significantly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt in 2015.
The Emirates came first among Arab countries in terms of market size, which amounted to $10.3bn in 2015, compared to $8.2bn in 2014. Saudi Arabia came in second place with a market size of $6.5bn in 2015, versus $4.5bn in 2014.
The domestic market size recorded a growth of $900m, reaching $5.1bn from $4.2bn in 2014, putting Egypt in third place among Arab countries.
Kuwait ranked fourth, despite the limited growth of the sector over the past year compared to 2014. The report showed that the Kuwaiti e-payments marker increased to $1.3bn, versus $1.1bn in 2014.
Lebanon came in fifth place with a market size amounting to $800m from $700m in 2014, followed by Jordan with $700m from $600m in 2014.
Qatar came in on the tail-end of the ranking with a market size of $400m, recording no growth from 2014.
