Muscat: While Oman is at the forefront of digital payments, around 30 percent of transactions of consumers surveyed are still in cash, according to Visa’s ‘Where Cash Hides’ research.
The research - based on a survey of 3,400 individuals and 30 in-depth interviews across Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, included questions about the overall frequency of cash usage and specific cases where respondents would use cash more than other payment methods.
Based on these results, the report identifies cash-heavy categories and consumer drivers of cash usage and proposes easier, more secure digital payment solutions for both consumers and local businesses.
Key survey findings
Cash in specific transactions:
In Oman, P2P transactions (45 percent) and everyday spending (31 percent) form a large portion of cash usage.
Within the P2P segment, tips (82 percent), money exchanges between friends and family (52 percent), property rent (33 percent), and international money transfers (14 percent) are the prime areas of cash usage.
Everyday spending like taxis (72 percent), farmer markets (48 percent), and eating out (38 percent) are mostly where cash is used. Other cash-heavy areas include events (20 percent), healthcare and beauty (9 percent), cinema (9 percent) and insurance (8 percent).
Motivators for cash usage:
Respondents’ perception of convenience (77 percent) was cited as the top reason they prefer using cash in the specific cases identified by the research. Other reasons include perception of acceptance (36 percent) and offering control and safety (34 percent).
Implications and solutions:
The study identifies situational cash usage, notably in rental payments, exchange houses, and farmer markets transactions.
Efforts to introduce convenient, fast, and easy solutions such as Visa Direct (P2P, tips and other disbursements, and remittances), and Tap to Phone (low-cost acceptance solution for SMBs, freelancers, and taxis) will drive digital payments and increase card acceptance.
Encouraging mobile payments and contactless usage presents a pathway to increase digital payment usage for everyday expenses. This requires education on acceptance and security of digital payments for both banked and unbanked populations.
Manish Gautam, Visa’s Country Manager for Oman, said, “We see a positive trend in card payments in Oman, with a 65% wallet share that continues to grow. However, there remain categories of spend where consumers in Oman still use cash. This presents an opportunity to extend the many benefits of digital payments to more consumers, and businesses for a more inclusive digital economy. At Visa, we remain committed to working with the local payments industry - and in line with the Oman government’s cashless agenda - to accelerate the economy’s transformation and make a better payment experience a reality for everyone, everywhere in Oman."
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