Visa introduces Future of Retail Roadmap for Saudi Arabia

Visa has unveiled its Future of Retail roadmap for Saudi Arabia, an initiative that aims to accelerate growth for retailers via existing and new digital enablement offerings.

The roadmap leverages Visa Acceptance Solutions to support Saudi-based businesses with enhanced commerce experiences.

Firstly, it is targeting more seamless integration with partners through a new AI-powered Developer Assist that has been added to the Visa Acceptance platform. The tool helps partners develop sophisticated payment flows and answer questions on testing and certification as well as suggest sample code.

In Saudi Arabia, it will be integrated with Saudi Payments Gateway (SPG), ensuring clients have access to the latest features and services on Visa Acceptance Platform while remaining compliant with local regulations. These services include creating custom solutions in retail, hospitality, telecom and mass transit, among others.

Growing Mobile Acceptance

Secondly, the initiative is targeting growing mobile acceptance, without additional hardwarwe. While Saudi Arabia’s adoption of contactless payments is among the highest globally, accounting for 98% of all in-store digital payment transactions, there remains a significant proportion of cash transactions in the Kingdom.

According to Visa’s ‘Where Cash Hides’ survey, around 20% of respondents in Saudi Arabia still conduct their transactions in cash, particularly for peer-to-peer and everyday spending. Previously, in 2021, Visa launched “Tap to Phone” in Saudi Arabia incollaboration with Saudi Payments. The acceptance solution allows sellers to accept contactless payments using a certified smartphone and is live globally.

Tap Technology

Interestingly, Visa is also deploying contactless technology from Tap to Phone in other ways, including a recent pilot in Latin America and the Caribbean that allows consumers to tap their cards to their own device in order to pay for online purchases. Visa has signalled that under the Saudi programme it plans to introduce such solutions to the region along with other advancements like Click to Pay, Visa Flexible Credential, and Visa Payment Passkey Service.

Ali Bailoun, Visa’s Regional General Manager for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, said: “According to a new Visa study, 80% of shoppers we surveyed in Saudi Arabia turned to digital features – including e-commerce – when they made their last purchase, a trend which is expected to grow. This is indicative of consumers’ confidence in and preference for digital payments. To keep pace with this trend, more merchants are looking for solutions to help them better deliver the digitally evolved experiences Saudi consumers increasingly expect and deserve.”