Payment by card rivaled by cash on delivery and mobile payment in Africa and the Middle East

HAMBURG, Germany - March 16, 2016 - PRLog -- While credit card is the payment method most used by online shoppers worldwide, in many emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa cash on delivery is still more popular. In countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, the UAE and Saudi Arabia this method was used by more than 50% of online shoppers to pay for purchases made over the Internet in 2015, as revealed in a new report by yStats.com. Nevertheless, there are a few exceptions to this trend, such as in South Africa where the majority of online transactions were paid with credit or check card. Moreover, in Morocco, the number and value of online payment transactions made with credit cards is growing rapidly, though cash on delivery still leads in usage.

Another popular alternative to credit card payments in the Middle East and Africa is mobile payment. Low banking penetration and growing mobile phone penetration rates in Africa are driving the use of this innovative payment method. Kenya is the regional leader in mobile payments, with mobile payment users accounting for more than two thirds of the country's population in 2015. Also in Nigeria, payment transactions made with mobile phones were growing at triple-digit rates last year. A number of new mobile payment solutions were launched in Africa in 2015, including BlackBerry's BBM and WeChat's mobile wallet to rival local solutions such as MFS Africa and M-Pesa. In wealthier Middle Eastern states mobile payments are also gaining pace, with more than half of Internet users surveyed in mid-2015 declaring their readiness to make payments via smartphones, according to the finding cited in yStats.com's report.

For further information, see: https://www.ystats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20160316_Product-Brochure-Order-Form_Middle-East-Africa-Online-Payment-Methods_Full-Year-2015.pdf

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About yStats.com

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, yStats.com is one of the world's leading secondary market research companies. We are committed to providing the most up-to-date and objective data on Global B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment markets to sector-leading companies worldwide.

Our multilingual staff researches, gathers, filters and translates information from thousands of reputable sources to synthesize accurate and timely reports in our areas of expertise, covering more than 100 countries and all global regions. Our market reports focus predominantly on online retail and payments, but also cover a broad range of related topics including M-Commerce, Cross-Border E-Commerce, E-Commerce Delivery, Online Gaming and many others. In addition to our wide selection of market reports, we also provide custom market research services.

We are proud to cooperate with companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Given our numerous citations in leading media sources and journals worldwide, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, we are considered one of the most highly-reputed international secondary market research companies with an expertise in the areas of B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment.