UAE e-commerce set to yield $10 billion a year from 2020

New research by WorldPay has projected that by 2020 e-commerce turnover in UAE will rise to US$10bn a year from US$4bn today and mobile payments will be US$4bn up from US$4bn now.

These new forecasts come on the opening of a major payments conference, PayExpo MENA, taking place in Dubai until 7 December which has among its local partners and sponsors International Chamber of Commerce (ICC-UAE), Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA).

Michael Seaman, event director for PayExpo MENA, comments: “This latest research highlights the importance to banks, retailers and businesses in the MENA region of being ready for the massive opportunities it will bring. PayExpo MENA will provide valuable insight.”

Delegates to PayExpo MENA will hear from some of the preeminent experts on payments trends and technology from the United Arab Emirates and across the globe. The comprehensive two-day summit will address key opportunities and challenges in the financial services, retail, transport, mobile, gaming and leisure markets – from enhancing and encouraging the global FinTech and ecommerce scene to revolutionising mobile financial services and banking around the world.

“As we experience the latest innovations that are setting the tone for 2017 payments evolution in the MENA region, we must appreciate the vision and efforts that we see in the area.  For example, UAE’s goal to become a predominantly cashless society and the increasing penetration of touch-less payments are some of the many benchmarks that need to be reinforced and supported. However, such initiatives will require serious coordination among all industry players and relative entities. Specialized events like PayExpo will help bridge the gap between the various initiatives in the region and instigate the needed synchronization for mass adaptation,” says the Director of Digital Payments at Etisalat, Sammy Tuffaha.  Etisalat is an Event Partner of PayExpo MENA.

Among the topics to be covered, the contribution from Blackberry will explore the strengths and pitfalls of digital currency, which are very much in their infancy in the region; Emirates NBD will address the security issues around current and emerging payment systems; Marka VIP, the largest ecommerce retailer in the UAE – will explain what they are doing to stay ahead of the competition. Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) will provide the latest industry updates in a keynote session - ‘the view from public transport: what a smart payment city looks like in Dubai.’

Complimentary passes are available for those involved with specifying payments solutions in: retail banks; investors and venture capitalists, merchants; mobile network operators, gaming executives, transport operators, hotel and leisure, start-ups and non-government authorities.

Registration is now open at: https://paymentsworldseries.circdata-solutions.co.uk/RFG/publish/PEXM2016/

For more information, please visit: https://www.payexpo.com/mena

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Read the December 2016 issue of Business Review Middle East magazine