CAIRO – 6 August 2018: Visa, in cooperation with General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, launch Monday Visa’s Security Week in Egypt. The educational campaign aims to promote safe online shopping habits and provide consumers with tips and advice to protect themselves against payment-related fraud.
Part of Infograph from Visa Security Week - Visa
Visa is also making a number of recommendations as part of Security Week for those using QR codes—the most advanced technological payment system yet—or making electronic payments, for example, it recommends shopping online only at well-known eCommerce sites, and reducing the amount of time spend using an unsecured, open WiFi connection which the survey found 45 percent of Egyptian consumers do at least once a week.
In preparation for this educational campaign, Visa surveyed consumers across Egypt, with research conducted by 4SiGHT Research & Analytics, providing compelling insights into the payment experiences, habits and attitudes of consumers.
For the purpose of understanding the market, 614 people were interviewed for 15 minutes each in April 2018, 74 percent of whom were males, while 26 percent were females, between the ages of 18-35 (71 percent) and 36 – 55 (29 percent). Almost half, 47 percent, of respondents lived in Grand Cairo, 12 percent lived in Giza, 16 percent in Alexandria and 25 percent live in a number of different cities. Each had a banking relationship in the country of residence, was a user of payment cards and had made at least one online payment in the past six months.
The study uncovered attitudes and adoption of new payment technology using QR (Quick Response) codes, such as Visa’s Scan to Pay, which enables consumers to make cardless purchases, pay bills and send or receive money both locally and internationally by scanning a QR code. Ninety-two percent of consumers surveyed liked the concept of QR mobile payments, with 79 percent trusting the concept.
Visa is also focused on where shoppers can improve their payments security – and its tips, posts and videos throughout the week will show them how to do this as part of the #VisaSecurityWeek social media campaign.
Part of Infograph from Visa Security Week - Visa
Neil Fernandes, Visa’s Head of Risk for Middle East and North Africa, commented, “Digital payments such as Scan to Pay, our QR code mobile payment solution, are playing an ever more important role in offering consumers a safe and seamless way to pay. That’s why it is vital we continue to support merchants, consumers, and banks through responsible innovation, and help them to understand the benefits of new technologies. This will empower them to use their cards or mobile device with confidence to shop both online and in a physical environment. Our Security Week will once again help to raise awareness amongst our consumers, ensuring we provide them the tools to help them identify and prevent potential fraud.”
Building on this, Ahmed Al Wakil, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), said, “Driving financial inclusion and spreading the digital payments culture will have a positive impact on commerce in Egypt and will empower consumers with various payment options. We are pleased to collaborate with Visa in launching the second chapter of the Security Week, as it will provide merchants and consumers with essential information on new payment channels. Mobile payments are gaining popularity in Egypt given the mobile devices and internet penetration.”
The Benefits of new payment technology being felt by consumers
In numbers, consumer opinions are largely positive when asked about QR based payments although it is still early days for the payment technology:
• 89 percent of consumers surveyed find them clear and easy to understand, and 77 percent view them as more convenient that cash or cards.
• 86 percent of consumers surveyed believe that QR code payments are more secure and confidential because no one can see card numbers, pins and passwords.
• While approximately two thirds of consumers believe that cash usage in Egypt is declining, 83 percent of consumers also revealed that they routinely visit shops and restaurants where only cash is accepted. Accordingly, 90 percent of aware consumers would like to see more retailers offering more ways to pay such as by QR codes.
• 23 percent who know how to pay with QR code are already using them and this figure looks set to grow with 90 percent of aware consumers likely to start using QR codes to pay. Helping consumers stay safe while shopping
• 80 percent of consumers find QR-based payments safer than cash, 87 percent find them safer than payments by check, and 77 percent find them safer than payments by debit or credit card.
Overall, it seems that the consumer’s attraction to staying safe online and cyber protection is encouraging them to use QR codes more and more, leading it to rapidly gain popularity in Egypt.
Part of Infograph from Visa Security Week - Visa
Internet use in Egypt
As Internet users reach 49.23 million people in Egypt, penetration reaches almost 50 percent, seven percent less than the percentage of the population living in urban areas within the country, according to a report by We Are Social and Hootsuite titled Digital in 2018. Internet penetration is higher in Egypt than Africa; reaching 49.5 percent last December, according to Internet World Stats, compared to an overall penetration rate of 35.2 percent in the continent.
Digital in 2018 relies on information from the United Nations as well as official country-based and international statistics, statements from officials, regional research by international organizations, GSMA intelligence, reputable media sources and several analytical websites and agencies, like Kepios analysis. It puts active social media users at 39 million, which entails penetration is at approximately 40 percent, and active mobile social media users are at 35 million, meaning about 36 percent of the population use their mobile devices to visit social media platforms.
Similarly, a report by the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information technology reveals that internet users in the country reached 33.19 million in April 2017; a 7 million increase from the number of internet users a year earlier.
Subscriptions for ADSL, the high-speed internet service provider, reached an all-time high of 4.57 million, an increase from April 2016’s 4.05 million, according to the report. Similarly, mobile phone data users reached 33.22 percent in April 2017, up from 27.37 percent in April 2016. This significant and steady increase in internet users has led research organizations, like international statistics platform Statista, to suggest that internet user penetration in Egypt will reach 53 percent by 2019. More businesses are also expected to have online presence over the next few year.
The quick increases seen in the internet industry, coupled with the fact that Egyptian users have been on the internet for a shorter amount of time on average in comparison with other countries, suggests that the industry is set to continue growing at a high pace during the next few years. Egyptians have been on the internet for five years, versus the 7.6 years on average for citizens of other African countries, according to a report published by the Northwestern University in Qatar. The report that surveyed more than 6,000 people from six Arab countries puts penetration at 50 percent in Egypt.
Part of Infograph from Visa Security Week - Visa
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