Contactless Payments Surge in Africa and Middle East Amid Pandemic, Mastercard Reports

In a press release, Mastercard stated that in March, as many Middle Eastern countries were imposing the necessary social distancing restrictions, more than 70% of consumers turned to contactless card payments for essential purchases.

Going to the store to buy eggs, medicine and other essential products has changed dramatically. Shoppers around the world have had to adapt to social distancing measures and other new challenges when purchasing consumer goods for their families and loved ones, the same press release states.

For Mastercard, which conducted this study through online interviews with 17,000 consumers in 19 countries around the world, the results of respondents in the Middle East and Africa show that contactless cards are successful.

In other words, six out of ten (61%) people surveyed in the region have exchanged their cards for a contactless card. According to the results, 70% of people surveyed in the region now use some form of contactless payment.

Faced with the pandemic, 84% of those surveyed said that contactless payment was a cleaner payment method. Similarly, 79% said that contactless payment methods have been easy to adopt. The study also noted the lasting adoption of contactless.