E-Commerce reaches new highs in Saudi Arabia

This acceptance in e-commerce at the Kingdom's merchants comes on the back of Samba Financial Group (Samba) becoming the first e-commerce acquirer in Saudi Arabia in early 2004 followed by the launch of their Internet payment services 'SambaConnect'.

Eisa Al Eisa, CEO & Managing Director of SAMBA and Visa CEMEA Board Member, said: 'With SAMBA providing the solutions for online transactions as the only e-commerce acquirer in the Kingdom, we have witnessed increasing acceptance of online purchases. We expect greater online activity in the coming months as more merchants in Saudi Arabia begin to take advantage of this delivery channel and offer online purchase facilities, which are fully protected by Visa International's latest e-security programme, 'Verified by Visa', in addition to the security benefits offered by SambaConnect. With large acquirers such as Saudi Arabian Airlines now offering online payments through SambaConnect, there will be a further deepening of the market.'

Saudi Arabia's exceptional growth in the first quarter of 2005 is matched by similar results across the Middle East with total regional transactions at e-merchants having risen five fold to over 120,000 compared to 20,000 in the corresponding period in the previous year. During the same period the total transaction value increased some 600 per cent to over US$12 million.

Ihab Ayoub, General Manager, Saudi Arabia, Visa International, said, 'The rising number of transactions is an indication of the growing comfort level of Visa cardholders when they make online payments. At Visa, we are committed to providing a secure online payment environment to consumers through constant innovation of new technologies. Our e-security programme, 'Verified by Visa' is one such example that is promoting peace of mind and trust of cardholders when they shop from the comfort of their home or office at anytime.'