Saudi Arabia has made a big transition toward doing away with cash transactions and instead opt for electronic payments during the last year with the transactions representing 94 percent of all payments, according to the findings of a study by the Saudi Central Bank.
The use of electronic payments increased to 62 percent last year from 44 percent in 2019 across all areas of economic activities.
The government sector in the kingdom has almost completely converted to electronic payment methods for all outward payments to individuals, business establishments or other government agencies, the report noted.
Individuals prefer to make cashless payments as it has grown significantly to reach 57 percent in 2021 of the total number of transactions executed, compared to just 36 percent in 2019, the report added.
When it comes to the business sector, the share of electronic payments reached a substantial 84 percent of all business payments in 2021, up from 51 percent in 2019, recording a growth of 65 percent over the two years.