Demand for mobile payments grows in the Middle East (page 2 of 2)

The benefits are particularly significant for expats in the region, with such services clocking minimal fees for cash transfers across borders.

Over $100bn a year is wired out of Saudi Arabia by expatriate workers, and alternative payment systems will only make that process cheaper and easier, through both technology and competition.

"The convergence of traditional brick and mortar, online and mobile commerce continues to drive the evolution of the payments industry and change the way consumers the world over make purchases," explains Holmes.

Shoppers now have the ability to read third party product reviews and conduct price comparisons - even when they're in the mall. It is even more likely that they will pay attention to what their friends recommend, or Like, via social networks.

"This universal commerce experience integrates shopping, payments, marketing, loyalty and financial management. Indeed, universal commerce represents a new consumer engagement strategy that financial institutions, mobile network operators, card networks, payments providers and retailers must all pursue if they are to successfully capture the business of increasingly connected consumers," Holmes says.

A key enabler of universal commerce is undoubtedly the mobile phone, specifically smartphones, which have had a profound impact on the way that consumers engage with the shopping experience. They have effectively become the focal point of an integrated customer experience before, during and after a transaction.

"While great strides have been made over the last five years there is still a lot to realise before mobile payments truly come to fruition. Adoption will ultimately be driven in the Middle East when there is a clear value proposition for the consumer that drives uptake, beyond innovative early adopters, into the mass market," Holmes predicts.