Global payments technology company, Visa on Sunday launched a campaign to help promote a safe and secure payment ecosystem in Saudi Arabia by educating consumers on how to protect themselves against different types of payment-related frauds. To help people stay safe when shopping online, Visa surveyed the Kingdom's consumers to understand their experiences, attitudes and behaviors regarding e-commerce. The Visa-commissioned survey found that half of people in Saudi Arabia (49 percent) are frequent online shoppers, with one in ten using e-commerce sites almost every day. Saudi nationals are the most frequent shoppers (55 percent) and also the biggest spenders, buying goods and services online worth SAR 3,126 each month, compared to an average of SAR 2,606. However, with 51 percent of people shopping online every 2-3 weeks or less, there is a huge opportunity for further expansion of the sector over the coming years. Travel and entertainment categories make up three of the top ten goods and services most commonly purchased online. Meanwhile, the finding that 61 percent of respondents pay for government services online underscores the success of the Kingdom's e-government action plan. Security concerns could be holding back e-commerce The survey identified reluctance among some consumers to pay electronically for certain goods and services they buy online. For all product categories surveyed there is 4-11 percent difference between consumers buying and paying for goods and services online, with the trend particularly pronounced in clothes and apparels, restaurant orders, hotel bookings and electronics. This discrepancy creates unnecessary friction in the system, such as the inconvenience to consumers of having to take out money, and the cost to merchants of handling cash and checks. While payments by card (78 percent) are the most common method for paying online, cash on delivery (59 percent) remains very popular. The security of transactions when using payment cards online is important to the overwhelming majority of people (81 percent), although less so for younger people aged 18-25 (63 percent). The majority of consumers (56 percent) are comfortable using digital payments on e-commerce sites, with the remainder having varying levels of apprehension. However, the more consumers use their cards, the more secure they feel, with 65 percent of card users feeling secure making online payments, compared to 25 percent of non-users. While consumers are right to be alert when shopping online, the survey found the reported incidence of card fraud is actually relatively low. However, older people seem to have been disproportionately affected, with 31 percent of 46-55-year-olds saying they have been a victim of payment card fraud. The lower reported incidence among younger generations suggests those who have grown up in a digital world are potentially more aware of the risks. Approximately a third of respondents (31 percent) say a barrier to them paying by card online is that they want to see the product first-hand before making payment, while a similar number (29 percent) choose cash on delivery because it assures the product will arrive. Consumer anxiety about shopping online is exacerbated by concerns about unfamiliar websites, with only 29 percent reporting they would shop from sites they do not know. The study suggests that one of the keys to expanding the e-commerce sector and increasing the use of digital payments is for merchants to offer a clear refund or replacement policy. More discounts and rewards would also influence 65 percent of respondents to pay electronically when shopping online. Visa encourages online shoppers to take measures to protect their card when shopping online, for instance by not sending their card number and CVV by email or phone, by avoiding unfamiliar websites, by not entering card details on suspicious promotions that seem too good to be true, and by activating tools like Verified by Visa (VbV), an authentication tool that ensures payments are made by the rightful owner of the Visa account. Chamseddine Bessaker, Head of Risk for UAE, Saudi Arabia & North Africa, Visa, said: "There is nothing more important to the Visa payment network than trust, especially as consumers in the Kingdom increasingly transact digitally. To overcome consumer concerns and to unlock Saudi Arabia's full e-commerce potential, Visa advocates a multi-layered security approach to tackling fraud, with the cardholder an integral part of the solution. Equally, there are a number of relatively simple steps merchants can take to build further confidence in the online shopping experience." An important part of Visa's multi-layered approach is Visa Token Service, which replaces the traditional 16-digit primary account number (PAN) with a digital "token" for online purchases and transactions initiated with mobile devices. Visa is working to bring tokenization to eCommerce, which will provide added security to online transactions by removing cardholder information from the merchant environment. — SG
