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Gulf Arab tech-savvy millennials spur payment innovation

Xinhua, August 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Banks and retail companies in the Gulf Arab countries have to reinvent their business models, since millennials there prefer online shopping and card payments, according to a study by the U.S. payment technology company Visa on Tuesday.

The study, titled "Understanding the millennial mindset and what it means for payments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries", said millennials, or youngsters aged between 18 and 34 there, "are a curious, sociable, tech-savvy population, whose use of technology is deeply embedded in their everyday lives."

Given that much of the 2.5-billion-U.S.-dollar e-commerce payment in 2015 in the six GCC countries come from millennials, banks and retailers have to "move from a product-driven to a customer-driven business model," said the report's author Kriti Makker, manager of Visa performance solutions for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The main reason that Gulf Arab millennials shop online "is to gain more convenience and save more time," she said. "For lenders and merchants, they have to move to a digital-by-default ethos. Digital can no longer be a choice in reaching out to customers but a must. Seventy percent of millennials shop online to save time."

"Firms have to use digital technology to improve customer interaction. If shoppers feel they are rewarded by collecting points or air miles they can redeem later and that their feedback is heard and taken seriously, then customer loyalty can be created," said Makker. Endit