Nevertheless, there is a great potential for alternative methods to develop, especially mobile payments. These are the findings of a new report from Germany-based secondary market research firm yStats.com, titled “Middle East and Africa Online Payment Methods: Full Year 2016.”
Cash on delivery is used by the majority of digital consumers across the emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa. According to different sources cited in yStats.com’s report, over 50% of online shoppers in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and the UAE prefer cash on delivery to other payment methods. Ecommerce companies operating in the Middle East and Northern Africa region report that more than two-thirds of their sales are paid in cash.
However, in South Africa there is a higher share of digital consumers who pay for internet purchases by bank card. Still, even in this country more than half of consumers say they would be willing to buy more online if they were offered the option to pay on delivery.
In terms of future adoption of digital payment means, especially mobile payments, the yStats.com report has optimistic forecasts. A two-digit share of consumers surveyed in the Middle East in 2016 admitted that they would opt for using payment methods other than cash or cards, with mobile wallets being one of the top three alternatives. Furthermore, Africa is already the leading region in mobile money usage. In Kenya, for example, there are millions of mobile money accounts and their number continues to grow. Along with Kenya, around one-third of online shoppers in Ghana and Uganda say they prefer to pay for their Internet-based purchases with mobile money.
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