Report Overview

Rapid increase in use of smartphones, mobile wallets, and payment technologies is a major growth factor for the GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market...

GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market - Industry Trends & Forecast Report 2028

During the forecast period 2022-2028, the GCC Financial Cards & Payments market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.8%. Governments’ favorable initiatives to encourage digital payment, the introduction of digital-only banks for SMEs, and strong growth in the e-commerce market as the government lowers the cost of e-commerce operations and a paradigm shift toward cashless payment.

GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market - Overview

By simplifying payment transactions, a payment gateway functions as an intermediary between various e-commerce websites and banks. It safeguards users’ sensitive data, such as credit card numbers and bank account information, from fraudulent entities. It also employs the HTTPS protocol, which protects personal information during order submission and offers a number of advantages, including a user-friendly interface, expense and loss management, and time efficiency.

GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market Forecast and Trends

Growth drivers

Consumers’ Preference for Online Shopping and Contactless Payments

Growing popularity of online shopping, increased financial institution acceptance of EMV and contactless technologies, and the development of a unified QR code-based national payment system in Saudi Arabia as part of Vision 2030 and in other GCC countries are driving the market expansion during the forecast period. Consumers' increasing preference for online shopping as it provides a simple, engaging, and secure digital experience, as well as an increase in the adoption of cashless payment and the COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to drive market expansion. In the UAE, e-commerce is expected to expand by an average of 23% by 2022.

Restraints

Declining Payment Fees

Payment fees have tended to be either flat (as with MDRs) or dropping in recent years (remittance fees). According to a survey, over the next five years, two-thirds of payment practitioners expect decreases.

Impact of COVID-19 on GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on the financial cards and payments industry, due to an increase in consumer internet buying as a result of the lockdown and the growing acceptance of digital payments. Consumers’ increasing preference for online shopping as it provides a simple, engaging, and secure digital experience, as well as an increase in the adoption of cashless payment and the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to drive the market expansion.

GCC Financial Cards and Payments Market - By Type

The Customer to Business (C2B) segment accounted for the highest market share in the GCC Financial Cards and Payment market in 2020, based on the kind of payment. The region's e-commerce activity has been boosted by increased internet and smartphone usage. In countries such as the UAE, e-commerce shopping has exploded in popularity.

Regional Insights

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are major countries in the GCC that are experiencing rapid expansion in the payment gateways market. This can be due to the BFSI and retail industries' increasing acceptance of these technologies and services. Furthermore, the increasing internet penetration and presence of multiple service providers in the region are positively impacting the market growth. Payment gateways help businesses collect money without compromising sensitive data. Increasing investments in payment and crowdfunding-based fintech businesses are also projected to boost demand for payment gateways.

Competitive Landscape

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Citibank, HSBC, PayPal express checkout, HDFC Bank, Diners Club, Barclays, and Hyperpay, are among the major players in the GCC Financial Cards and Payments market.

Recent Developments

Startups and SMEs are flocking to the UAE corporate credit card market. Despite the pandemic, the UAE's startup sector maintained its leadership in terms of funding and deals in 2021 by raising $1.2 billion in 155 transactions to keep their top spot. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia surpassed Egypt as the second largest source of venture capital funding in 2021, following a 270% increase from the previous year. All other credit card brands have been surpassed by Visa corporate credit cards. In 2021, its market share in GCC countries was more than half of the overall market share. Furthermore, Mastercard had slightly over half of Visa's market share.

Scope of the Report

 By Type​​​​​​​

•  Card
•  Credit Card
•   Debit Card
•  Charge Card
• Prepaid Card

By Type of Payments

• B2B
• B2C
• C2C
• C2B
• E-Commerce Shopping
• Payments at POS Terminals
• Others

 By Type of Transaction

•   Domestic
•   Foreign

   By Card Issuing Institution

• Banking
•  Non-Banking