Payments and e-commerce in the UAE

Discover how do Emiratis like to shop and pay online

United Arab Emirates

General Information

Population 10.0 m
Population 15 + 8.4 m
Online population 9.9 m
Area 83,600 km²
Currency AED
GDP 410.2 bn $US
GDP per capita 41,052 $US

Card-based payments
Cash-based payments
Bank transfer
Wallets
Other

[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"48"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"10"},{"label":"Bank transfer","value":"11"},{"label":"Wallets","value":"23"},{"label":"Other","value":"8"}]

Banked population

United Arab Emirates 90%
Middle East & Africa 46%
World 67%

Credit card penetration

United Arab Emirates 48%
Middle East & Africa 8%
World 19%

Internet penetration

United Arab Emirates 99%
Middle East & Africa 47%
World 62%

Smartphone penetration

United Arab Emirates 84%
Middle East & Africa 43%
World 70%

Between 2022 and 2027, the total value of digital payments in the UAE is expected to grow from 26 bn $US to 39 bn $US.

In response to the growing demand for parcel deliveries, the UAE logistics market is expected to grow by 7% a year, adding 12 billion $US to its value, between 2022 and 2026.

Between 2022 and 2028, the value of social commerce in the UAE will grow from 905 m $US to reach 5,350 m $US.

A recent report found that 74% of UAE online shoppers except to spend more with e-commerce merchants in the future than they did in the past.

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2026)

B2C e-commerce ($US billion)

2022 25.2

2023 29.4

2024 33.8

2025 38.4

2026 43.3

E-commerce spending per capita ($US)

2022 2591

2023 2998

2024 3417

2025 3858

2026 4319

E-commerce spending as % of GDP

2022 6.5%

2023 7.3%

2024 8.1%

2025 8.9%

2026 9.6%

United Arab Emirates

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments

Toys, Hobby & DIY: 29%
Fashion: 27%
Electronics & Media: 18%
Food & Personal Care: 13%
Furniture & Appliances: 12%

Cross-border e-commerce

Cross-border proportion of total e-commerce – 16%
Value of cross-border e-commerce – 3.3 bn $US
Online shoppers who have shopped cross-border – 60%

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

China

India

B2C e-commerce growth 20->21

United Arab Emirates 23.1%

E-commerce % of total retail

United Arab Emirates 16%
Middle East & Africa 9%
World 20%

E-commerce completed on a mobile device

United Arab Emirates 55%
Middle East & Africa 47%
World 53%

The Credit Card Split

Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Other

[{"label":"Visa","value":"59"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"37"},{"label":"American Express","value":"3"},{"label":"Other","value":"1"}]

E-commerce market size 21.2 bn $US
E-commerce spending per capita 2,202 $US
E-commerce spending as % of GDP 5.7%

_{The information on our Insights pages has been compiled by us in cooperation with Datamatics and Wright & Brown. The data shown is partially owned by us and partially owned by GlobalData. © 2021 by PPRO Financial Ltd. No data and information can be used for any further publication without the explicit approval of PPRO.}

United Arab Emirates

Local Payment Methods

BitPay

Type Cryptocurrency Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Hyperwallet

Type Bank transfer, Gift card, Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Paysafecard