Due to the limitation of the epidemic, e-commerce and digital payment portals are growing rapidly all over the world. More and more people are using smart phones, e-commerce, digital wallets, mobile phones and QR codes to avoid contact with others. Many enterprises are also forced to move from traditional physical stores to online stores.

As revealed by Forbes Middle East and Marmore intelligence in northeast Africa, the region has untapped e-commerce potential. In the Middle East, only about 2% of retail sales come from e-commerce, compared with 15% in developed markets.

According to the 2020 world payment report released by Capgemini Research Institute, global non cash transactions increased by nearly 14% from 2018 to 2018, reaching 708.5 billion transactions, the highest growth rate recorded in the past decade.

Driven by the proliferation of contactless payment methods, China, India and other Southeast Asian markets have led this growth. With this in mind, a report by research and markets, a global online market intelligence provider, estimates that the global digital payment market will grow from $3.88 trillion in 2019 to about $5.43 trillion in 2020.

However, this is only a small part of the total amount obtained through credit and debit cards, online and mobile payments and other digital channels.

A July report from Boston consulting group showed that COVID-19 and all its impact provided great opportunities for the financial technology industry.

Under the leadership of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Deloitte predicts that e-commerce sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.9% from 2016 to 2021, reaching US $48.8 billion (dirham179 billion). Although the Internet penetration rate in the region (60%) is higher than the global average (51.7%), at present, the e-commerce potential of the region has not been exploited. A report by Gartner, a technology research company, shows that in the Middle East, only 15% of enterprises have e-commerce, and nearly 90% of online shopping is cross-border shopping.

Checkout. COM is the leading digital payment portal in the region. It released the "Internet payment" report for the Middle East and North Africa Pakistan (menap), revealing various factors driving the growth of e-commerce. The report is based on a poll of more than 5000 consumers in the region.

The report shows that although only 15% of consumers expect their online shopping frequency to decline, 47% are expected to increase, while the rest are not expected to change. 49% of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consumers plan to shop in 2021, including 45% in the UAE alone. The report shows that the frequency of online shopping by wealthy consumers, men over the age of 35 and consumers who have made contactless payments will increase in the coming year.

Checkout. Sebastian Reis, executive vice president of global e-commerce, said: "Our report shows that what we see today is not just a temporary change in consumer behavior. Although this may bring significant opportunities for enterprises in the region, to take advantage of this change in consumer behavior and succeed in a highly competitive market, enterprises need to provide not only the products and services consumers need, but also the best online shopping experience, including safety, reliability and convenience."

Due to the epidemic, food delivery companies have been positively affected, with 41% of companies reporting an increase in users and orders. In other online industries, fashion accounts for 37%, groceries 33% and electronics 30%. Due to the convenience of online shopping, consumers prefer digital payment to cash payment. Of those who shop once a month, 62% pay by card or digital wallet (such as apple pay). In the future, consumers will prefer to use their mobile phones comfortably at home to order necessities such as food, beverages and groceries. Convenience and payment experience will be the decisive factors in choosing the preferred supplier or bank for digital payment.

Amazon also entered the UAE by providing Amazon payment services (APS) to enterprises. This was accomplished through Amazon's acquisition of payfort in 2017. Will assist in accepting online payments through global and local methods, providing customers with instalments, and monitoring payment performance.

According to the 2020 world payment report, digital payments in the Middle East and Africa surged 18% from 2018 to 2019, making them the two fastest-growing smart payment markets. The Middle East market is changing, and enterprises and financial institutions are forced to turn to intelligent payment solutions.