Consumer Finance

While consumers in the Middle East and Africa region continue to increase their usage of card payments and the digitalisation of the financial industry also continues to advance, cash still remains important in many countries, especially the African…

Financial cards and payments in Egypt has seen a remarkable year in 2023, characterised by a notable shift from cash to card usage, larger transaction amounts, and a surge in new account openings. Government initiatives to boost financial inclusion…

Consumer mobility is evolving as urbanisation, sustainability and growing technological savviness are driving demand for travel supported by dynamic payment solutions. Euromonitor International introduces the Digital Payments in Mobility Index to…

Technological advances are creating unprecedented change across consumer-facing industries. The Digital Consumer Survey, fielded in March and April, offers insight into the pace and depth of this evolution, tracking consumer behaviour, attitudes,…

The prices of essential goods and services such as food and electricity have continued to rise in 2023, despite the relatively lower level of inflation, which moved from 7.0% in 2022 to 5.7% in 2023. Debit card value transactions benefited from this…

While Nigeria still mainly operates with cash, debit cards are the most popular financial card and continue to gain further penetration and in 2023, both number of cards and transaction values are expected to increase, with a double-digit constant…

Driven by population growth and continued urbanisation, the number of debit cards in Morocco continues to soar. Traditionally, local consumers show a strong preference for using debit cards thanks to the safety and reliability of paying with existing…

The Central Bank of Egypt reported a noteworthy 15% overall growth in the total number of electronic cards in Egypt by the end of 2022. Specifically, the number of debit cards in the market witnessed a substantial 12% growth. The government's ongoing…

As more middle-income households are struggling to reach month-end, due to the combined effects of rising interest rates, which have put pressure on existing vehicle and mortgage loans, as well as inflationary pressures, which have affected…

Most banks perceive credit cards as high risk due to experiencing frequent default rates in the past. As such, credit cards continue to be relatively scarce in Nigeria, with mainly high net-worth individuals owning credit cards. Also, due to the…

Morocco is a country heavily reliant on cash, with consumers historically favouring debit cards to any other types of financial cards; standard credit cards continue to suffer from a negative perception among locals for several reasons. The demand…

Amidst the ongoing economic challenges in Egypt, ranging from currency devaluation to inflation and restricted overseas transactions, credit cards have gained substantial traction. The reliance on credit cards is expected to surge further in the…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

The South African economy has continued to struggle in 2023, as reflected by 0.4% real GDP growth, the unemployment rate stagnating beyond 32%, and the South African rand depreciating further against major currencies. Economic growth has also been…

Gross consumer lending is expected to register growth in 2023, but with inflation continuing to be very high, it will not go far in terms of consumer spending. A new government has implemented some difficult decisions in order to stabilise the…

While Morocco saw dynamic demand for consumer lending immediately post-pandemic as retailers and foodservice outlets reopened their doors to consumers, from September 2022 the market has been impacted by soaring prices impacting purchasing power…

Consumer credit and lending have experienced substantial growth in the past year. In March 2023, the Central Bank of Egypt reported a significant increase in consumer credit. The rise is attributed to an increase in both local and foreign currency…

Demand for consumer credit gross lending is set to continue to increase in 2023, despite the South African Reserve Bank’s consecutive rises in interest rates to stabilise inflationary pressures. This trend has been driven mainly by declining…

A new government inherited a sluggish economy, record debt and shrinking oil output, due to creaking infrastructure. On foot of this, the government has implemented some difficult decisions in order to stabilise the economy, including ending a…

Morocco’s latest unemployment data exhibits a rise to almost 13% in the first three months of 2023, from just over 12% over the same period last year, as the farming sector shrunk due to the worst drought in decades, directly affecting the sector’s…