New technology drives demand for mobile payments access in the Middle East and Africa, Mastercard study
Mobile payments represented more than 30 percent of the total social media conversation around payments in the Middle East and Africa, with total mentions doubling over the prior year.
Now in its sixth year, the study, developed in partnership with PRIME Research, analyzed more than 3.3 million conversations globally and 90,000 conversations in the Middle East and Africa from the past year across social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Weibo.
Interest in new technologies
People are looking to newer technologies to have an impact on their lives. In the past year alone, such mentions on social media increased 30 percent globally since the last study.
Today, nearly 20 percent of all mobile commerce payments are focused on contactless payments and mobile wallets. Beyond these primary focus areas, consumers are interested in how artificial intelligence, QR payments and wearable payments will impact their lives.
Overall, people are increasingly positive toward these newer technologies. In the Middle East and Africa, virtually all (95 percent) mobile wallet conversations were favorable, with 22 percent of posts praising the speed, efficiency and simplicity of these products.
“In the fast-evolving world of digital payments, it is crucial that we listen and understand the views of the people who ultimately use our solutions. The Mastercard Digital Payments Study highlights a willingness to adopt the latest payment technology solutions from users across the Middle East and Africa, and reinforces the increasingly important role that mobile payments play in everyday life,” said Gaurang Shah, senior vice president of Product Management, Digital Payments & Labs for the Middle East and Africa at Mastercard.
Primed for action with peace of mind
Among the conversations analyzed, consumers clearly continued to be focused on the security of their money and their data as a foundational requirement. In their posts, people recognize the value of new technologies on delivering this peace of mind across mobile payments.
Looking at the newer technologies:
- Biometrics reached a potential 111 million, driven primarily by an interest in voice payments and fingerprint scanners
- Tokenization – and its critical role in supporting and protecting payments of all type – was featured in conversations reaching a potential audience of 11 million viewers
While breaking news around data breaches drove one-fifth of data-related conversations, another 13 percent of these conversations noted the potential of digital security technologies, including blockchain, tokenization and biometrics.
About the Study
Mastercard, in partnership with PRIME Research, conducted its sixth Digital Payments Study, designed to identify expanding conversations on new ways to pay. More than 3.3 million public social media posts were analyzed over a 12-month period (Jan 1st, 2018 – Dec 31st, 2018). These posts were made on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Forums, Google+, YouTube, Vkontakte and Weibo in nearly 190 markets across the globe. The resulting report reflects insights into new mobile payments product and category trends across regions and countries.
