Visa, the world leader in digital payments, recently hosted a virtual seminar – “The Future of the Contactless Ecosystem in Egypt” – for its clients and industry partners in Egypt. Held in collaboration with the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI).
The event explored the role of contactless payments in economic recovery, best practices in digital marketing to support growth of digital payments in Egypt, and the underlying security technology of contactless payments.
The workshop featured presentations from industry experts such as Malak El Baba, Visa Country Manager for Egypt and Essam El Daly, Visa’s Head of Merchant Sales and Acquisition North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, among others.
Malak El Baba, Visa’s Country Manager for Egypt, said, “The use of contactless payments and eCommerce payments have become vital parts of the public health response to the pandemic, in large part because of the convenience that digital payments offer to both consumers and merchants.
With consumers preferring the low-touch aspect of contactless payments, the adoption rate of tap-to-pay in Egypt has seen significant growth over the past year, with an impressive 900% growth in active contactless cards between September 2019 and September 2020. We are also seeing accelerated growth in digital payments as more businesses move online to reach consumers quickly, efficiently and securely.
Accelerating Egypt’s digital transformation is a key agenda item of the government and this event is part of our ongoing efforts in working with our partners, including the government, fintechs, banks and merchants, to support the country’s transformation into a digital society.”
Findings from a 2020 Visa consumer survey in Egypt show that interest in digital payments has increased since the outbreak of COVID-19, with 78% of Egyptians surveyed saying they are making more contactless payments.
The survey also found that 86% of consumers trust contactless technology, citing security, speed, convenience and limited human contact as key reasons for their preference.
These findings indicate that the shift among consumers is likely to continue post-pandemic as they are now accustomed to the convenience and security of digital payments, including contactless payments.
Laila El Oteifi, EBI said, “At the Egyptian Banking Institute, we are pleased to coordinate the webinar of “The Future of the Contactless Ecosystem in Egypt” with Visa. Contactless payments proved its dominance in payments for both its speed and security.
From tap-to-pay to no-touch, contactless payments are an alternative way to carry out electronic funds transfer at the point of sale. Consumers are increasingly moving away from cash and opting for contact-free and digital payments experiences – and they don’t expect to go back.
Additionally, eCommerce has been elevated to historic levels as well, driven by the growing trend of online shopping during the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting constraints imposed during the lockdowns.
These key trends are defining the evolution of consumer payment behavior and are inducing a sustained and wide prevalence of contactless payment in the future. The webinar is a great opportunity to discuss the importance of contactless payment, its growth and the best practices of prevailing it and minimizing its risks, especially in MENA countries.”
Last year, Visa, in collaboration with Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), hosted the Egypt Payment Security and Digital Solutions Conference, which raised awareness of the latest in cybersecurity trends and digital solutions innovations and was attended by leaders from Egyptian banks, merchants and fintech companies.
During the conference, Visa also presented its security roadmap for the digital payments ecosystem in Egypt
