The Arabic finance and investment website www.nuqudy.com reports about a gradual shift in the Middle East payment methods. Traditionally, the region is used to cash payments. However, according to the report, the adoption of e-payments has grown at a strong pace in recent years.

Despite this, the MENA region still has significant ground to make up in terms of total penetration. In 2009, only around a third of total payment transactions were e-payments, as opposed to more than double that in North America and likewise in Western Europe.