Contactless payment: Morocco drives business in North Africa

Morocco is leading the way in North Africa in terms of contactless payment, reports Le Maroc today in its Tuesday 6 October issue. The newspaper points out that this method of transaction is gaining more and more ground in the region, even if it still only accounts for 6.4% of total transactions. We learn that this growth is notably driven by Morocco, which has seen contactless payments increase from 9% in May 2020 to 12% in June 2020. And, according to Visa, which observes this evolution in its analysis of the trend in retail sales in the context of the pandemic, there is reason for optimism.

Regarding the development of contactless payment in Morocco, we learn that home renovation and home furnishing, as well as pharmacies, are among the non-food physical retail categories that have seen the highest growth in sales. “During its participation in the Future Retail Experience webinar, Visa noted that merchants who have adopted online payment and contactless payment systems have been able to better withstand economic adversity. This event was an opportunity to highlight the benefits of seamless integration between in-store and online experiences for retailers,” the paper said, adding that the development of this payment method requires further convergence between digital and physical channels. “As a company that enables digital payments in more than 61 million shops worldwide, our data shows that although e-commerce has become more prevalent, physical shops have continued to see an increase in sales. But the virus has radically changed the way people shop, and it is more important than ever to offer customers a multi-channel experience,” said Akshay Chopra, Vice President of Innovation and Development for Visa in the CEMEA region.

“Among the main trends revealed during this videoconference is the resilience of physical retailing in this pandemic environment. According to data covering the six months of the epidemic, physical shops continue to account for the majority of sales volumes despite the upward trajectory of e-commerce,” the paper concludes.