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

  1. Toys, Hobby & DIY: 29%
  2. Fashion: 27%
  3. Electronics & Media: 18%
  4. Food & Personal Care: 13%
  5. Furniture & Appliances: 12%

Cross-border e-commerce

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

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

    China
    India
    US
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 Type Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Paysera Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Skrill Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Allied Wallet Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High UnionPay SecurePay Type Local payment card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Apple Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High DaoPay Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Google Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High klip Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance High Masterpass Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Mobiamo Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Razer Gold Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Samsung Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High SWIFT Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High 7-Eleven Type Cash Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, North America Market relevance Medium CASHU Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium eWallet Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium MBME Type Cash Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium OneCard Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium Zip Type Buy Now, Pay Later Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, North America + 2 Boloro Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Cordial Type Prepaid card Regions Middle East & Africa e-dirham Type Local payment card Regions Middle East & Africa G2A Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium Mercury Type Local payment card Regions Middle East & Africa NETELLER Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Nol Type Local payment card Regions Middle East & Africa Splitit Type Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3

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