Saudi youth move away from cash, says report
Published 05 Aug,2021 via Arab News - Economy RIYADH, DUBAI - Saudi youth are increasingly drawn toward using digital payment channels rather than cash, a trend indicating that the Kingdom’s plan to create a cashless society is on course.
Only 18 percent of Saudis aged between 16 and 22 years use cash, while almost half of the people who are 60 and above still prefer using cash, a report by Fintech Saudi showed.
The report also showed that only 20 percent of the population in the central region of Saudi Arabia, which includes the capital Riyadh, use cash in their everyday transactions, while 37 percent of those living in the western region, use paper money in their daily dealings.
The use of paper currency is declining at a rapid pace.
Fintech Saudi survey results showed that around 60 percent of individuals Kingdom-wide still use paper money at least once a week and one out of four people in Saudi Arabia uses cash every day.
Under Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to increase the number of non-cash transactions to 70 percent by 2025.
“The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has led to an acceleration in cashless activity with digital payments increasing by 75 percent over the last year, while cash withdrawals from ATMs and other payment points have declined by 30 percent over the same period,” the report said.
Revenue in the Saudi e-commerce market is projected to reach $7.05 billion in 2021, according to data firm Statista.
The numbers are expected to show an annual growth rate of 5.38 percent in the coming years, resulting in a projected market volume of $8.69 billion by 2025.
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