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Manama / Emirates Business
The number of POS and Ecommerce transactions in Bahrain shot up by 65% in August, year-on-year, reaching a total value of nearly $744 million during the month, after topping $3.62 billion in the first half of 2021, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) revealed on Tuesday.
According to new figures from the CBB, there were more than 11.3 million digital transactions in Bahrain last month, valued at BD279.6 million ($743.7 million). The value of e-commerce and point-of-sale (PoS) payments rose by 50% in August 2021 compared to the same month last year. There were more than 53 million digital payments in the first half of 2021, the data shows.
The figures reflect the trend in the rest of the GCC, which is currently experiencing a region-wide surge in online and digital payments as countries accelerate their transition towards cashless societies in the wake of the pandemic.
Lockdowns last year caused a dramatic shift towards digital payment systems. Bahrain’s national electronic wallet, BenefitPay, announced a 785% increase in the number of remittances through its Fawri+ service (an online payment service introduced under the Electronic Funds Transfer System) in 2020 – exceeding $5 million. And research from the European Payments Council indicates that the MENA region will process around 139 billion individual non-cash transactions in 2022, which is 90 billion more than five years ago.
Bahrain is among the leaders of the Middle East’s march towards a paperless financial system, thanks to its innovative regulation of FinTech. Bahrain boasts some of the world’s most advanced digital infrastructure and has produced several leading start-ups that are disrupting the region’s digital payments infrastructure.