E-commerce is seeing very fast growth in Africa, and much of this is coming from smartphone transactions.
These are among the findings from PayU’s analysis of the transaction trends and potential of the 16 growth markets.
“Ecommerce growth within emerging countries is two times bigger than in most established regions,” says Laurent Le Moal, CEO of PayU. ”These evolving markets make way for many business opportunities, provided that merchants adapt their offering to local habits and requirements.”
Key findings featured in PayU’s overview include the high growth of ecommerce in Africa (more than 65% of Nigerian Internet users shop online), the smartphone penetration in Asia (70% of Indian Internet sessions are made using a smartphone), the cash legacy in Latin America (cash still represents more than 50% of all payments made via PayU in Mexico and Argentina) as well as the dominance of banking transfers in Poland (80% of online payments) and instalments in Turkey (88% of credit- and debit card-based payments).
“Overall, we see a strong shift towards smartphone-based transactions,” adds Mario Shiliashki, head of PayU Europe, Middle East & Africa.
“For 2016, we are building off our local presence and trust to offer smart financial services, starting with lending for consumers and SMBs in credit-seeking regions such as India, Latin America and Eastern Europe,” says Raj Kamal, global head of strategy and business development at PayU.