Middle East Named Fastest-Growing Real-Time Payment Market Worldwide For Second Year
The Middle East has been identified as the world's fastest-growing market for real-time payments for the second year running in 2023, as revealed in the 2024 Prime Time for Real-Time report produced by ACI Worldwide and GlobalData. This report showcases a significant surge in the region's real-time payment market, noting a 33.60% increase year-on-year (YoY) with 855 million transactions recorded in 2023. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with projections indicating growth to three billion transactions by 2028, amounting to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.80%.
Real-time payments are increasingly becoming integral to the economic frameworks of Middle Eastern countries. Governments across the region have been proactive in introducing national real-time payment schemes aimed at benefiting both consumers and businesses while facilitating financial innovation and transformation. In 2023, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar introduced their national real-time payment schemes, joining the ranks of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE. This expansion means all six GCC member states now have real-time payment programs in operation, with the transaction value in the Middle East projected to skyrocket from $230 billion in 2023 to an impressive $903 billion by 2028.
Bahrain is highlighted within the report as possessing one of the most advanced payment markets in the Middle East. Real-time payments in Bahrain account for nearly half of the total payment volume, dominating the majority of electronic payments. The trend towards digital payments is evident across the Middle East, with electronic transactions in 2023 representing over 50% of all transactions and 95% of the transaction value in the region. Real-time payments constituted 12% of the region's electronic transactions last year, with forecasts predicting this figure will rise to 22% by 2028, surpassing the growth rates in both Europe and North America.
The transition towards a cashless economy in the Middle East is underscored by the prediction that cash-based transactions will decrease to a mere 3% of all transaction value by 2028. This shift highlights the region's strong commitment to embracing a cashless future and the pivotal role real-time payments play in this transformation.
Santhosh Rao, Senior Vice President for Sales at ACI Worldwide MEASA, commented on the development, stating, "With real-time payment schemes now operational in every GCC nation, local banks are at a pivotal juncture where they must harness technological evolution as the catalyst for innovation." He further added, "With the Middle East leading the world in real-time payments growth, financial institutions should seize the opportunity to carefully study these successes and extract valuable insights to inspire the launch of their own pioneering real-time payment solutions."
These developments indicate a significant move towards modernizing financial transactions in the Middle East, with the region setting a global benchmark in the adoption and growth of real-time payments. The comprehensive deployment of these schemes across the GCC underscores a collective effort towards financial digitalization, promising a transformative impact on economies and societies in the Middle East.
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