The UAE’s prepaid sector is on track to top US$18 billion in the next five years, according to Douglas Blakey, Group Editor for Consumer Finance at the event organiser’s, Timetric Financial Services.
Blakey was speaking ahead of the upcoming Prepaid Summit: Middle East later this week in Dubai. Visa is on-board as the event’s sponsor, for the sixth year running.
“The Middle East is experiencing rapid growth in the prepaid sector, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt leading the way.
“This has been driven by top-down support for electronic payroll systems rather than cash-based systems, alongside a rapid surge in the use of the internet and mobile devices,” he said.
Blakey predicts that growth will bring in its wake ‘innovative, practical payment solutions developed by nimble service providers across all complementary payment services’.
“It is an exciting time to be involved in a sector that is able to seamlessly sync the consumer’s ability to pay across financial, retail, government and leisure spend,” Blakey stated.
He confirmed that more than 150 global and regional industry players within the prepaid sector are expected to attend the event, set to take place on March 18 at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi.
