The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the uptake of cross-border digital payments, making it convenient for small and medium enterprises to continue business and for consumers to purchase goods and services from around the world, but significant challenges persist, experts say.
To overcome future hurdles, the digital payment ecosystem should be made more interoperable so different systems can connect in a frictionless manner, industry executives said during an online panel at the World Economic Forum's Global Technology Governance Summit.
The ability to accept digital payments and connect to the digital financial ecosystem became much more critical as the pandemic developed, they added.
“The pandemic underscored the importance of being digital. Small businesses with digital connectivity recovered fast from the ravages of Covid-19 … others faced the most challenging time,” Demetrios Marantis, senior vice president for global government engagement at Visa, said.
“You cannot live in a world where there is one standard, one system, one payment scheme and one network … different stakeholders should be able to interoperate with one another. It will offer opportunities to small businesses who are relying on digital tools for an economic recovery,” he added.
Digital payments are thriving as users avoided using cash during the Covid-19 pandemic. Globally, digital payments are set to grow to $8.3 trillion in 2024, from $4.4tn last year, according to Statista.
Digital payments offer unprecedented opportunities globally, said Chen Long, director of Luohan Academy, the think tank set up by Hangzhou-based e-commerce company Alibaba.
“In a typical e-commerce environment in China, you have hundreds of millions of online consumers and so many SMEs to serve them … now a small store, which was earlier restricted by space and time, is serving customers thousands of kilometres away.”
“Opportunities that were earlier available to only big companies are now there for small businesses. In fact, digital payments are information of the real economic activity that could be observed and recorded,” added Mr Long.
In the UAE, digital payments have more than doubled over the last two years to $18.5 billion in 2020, according to FinTech company Stripe, which announced its entry into the Middle East market on Tuesday.
Two-thirds of UAE residents expect the country to become fully cashless by 2030, a poll by Standard Chartered showed in September.
There has also been an acceleration in digital payment take-up across Latin America and the Caribbean, Irene Arias Hofman, chief executive of IDB Lab, an innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, said.
“From the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 14 countries were offering cash transfer to its citizens through digital payment models … so suddenly 5 million people in Colombia had a bank account for the first time ... and that, too, a digital account.
“We have to take advantage of this situation and become a more inclusive financial model. It should not be limited to only cash transfers,” she added.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The%20trailblazers
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Company%20Profile
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SUZUME
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
