Under the COP28 UAE Presidency, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH) and the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) have joined hands to launch the COP28 UAE TechSprint.
This pioneering initiative seeks to bring together technologists, innovators, data scientists, not-for-profit institutions, the financial services sector, and other private or public sector participants to bring forward best-in-class AI, blockchain, IoT and sensor technology solutions that can be used by the finance industry to support climate action.
Regarding to extend this opportunity, the Fintech Office at the Central Bank of UAE approached the Electronic Payment Service Providers Association in addition to several professional associations in order to explore the possible solutions.
EFISZ
The Electronic Payment Service Providers’ Association (EFISZ) carried out another national representative survey: this time the association studied electronic payment and digitalization trends.
The representative sampling had been conducted in 2023 between end of March and mid-April among adult internet-users and 2000 persons had been surveyed. The survey questions mostly pertained to electronic payment and digitalization trends.
Just like in the previous survey (90-94-81 percent, respectively), in April 2023 bank card payment, bank transfer and online payment are the three best known cashless payment options (93-91-80 percent have already heard about these).
Almost every (97 percent) adult internet-users in Hungary have already paid electronically at least once and 89 percent of them pay this way regularly. Bank card and bank transfer are the two most frequently used methods: 85% tried the former and 75% use it regularly, 79 percent tried the latter however only 43% became its regular user.
Respondents (also) paying by cash alternatives primarily tend to pay electronically when purchasing food (66 percent) and paying for utilities (51 percent), 56-42 percent is the share of those settling these kind of transactions regularly with cash alternatives.
Just like in the previous survey, in April 2023 almost half of the respondents (49 percent) pays more often electronically then by cash and the share of those using cash exclusively is only 10%.
89 percent of the questioned own a bank account, the share of those currently employed is 66 percent. The overwhelming majority (92 percent) of employees having a bank account receive at least a part of their salary to bank account, 85 percent receive the entire salary this way.
More than three out of four respondents (77 percent) having a bank account usually make efforts to monthly withdraw only the amount of money after which no bank charges are incurred; this is mostly typical for those having tertiary education and for elderly of and above 60 (87 and 85 percent, respectively).
Half of the survey participants are aware that it is cheaper to pay HUF 200,000 by bank card than to withdraw the same amount of cash from an ATM. People having tertiary education and residents of Budapest are the most well-informed in this respect (65 and 57 percent are aware respectively).
78 percent of those usually paying cashless tend to prefer stores and service providers accepting electronic payment methods and for 82% of them it is a basic requirement to be able to pay cashless. Both behaviour is most typical for those having tertiary education (86 and 91 percent respectively) and elderly of and above 60 (83 and 87 percent).
Ca. half (51 percent) of those using cash alternatives (as well) claimed to usually avoid on the long run deliberately those stores/ service providers which do not accept electronic payment and the avoidance of cash only payment is primarily typical for elderly above 60 (64 percent) and those having tertiary education (60 percent).
EFISZ
Electronic payment and digitalization trends 2023.pdf
The Electronic Payment Service Providers Association (EFISZ) is pleased to welcome GRÁNIT Bank among its members, as by this addition, the activity of the Association has further expanded and gained new momentum.
In order to realise its strategic objectives, EFISZ continuously works together—with the cooperation of its members and partners—on the development of the Hungarian and international electronic payment ecosystem, the facilitation of professional collaborations, the analysis of the strategic environment, the protection of the users of electronic payment services, and the promotion of the creation of innovative, cashless payment solutions and new service value chains.
In this context, it is of utmost importance that the Association’s list of members has expanded with GRÁNIT Bank, which was the first bank in Hungary to implement the digital banking business model.
‘GRÁNIT Bank was already born digital in 2010,’ stated Éva Hegedüs, Chairman and CEO of GRÁNIT Bank. ‘From the very beginning, we have provided our services to our clients without branch network, primarily through electronic channels and smart devices. We consider it our mission to come out, year after year, with market-leading, innovative financial solutions which make banking faster, simpler, experiential, and cost-effective for our clients. We are honoured that now—together with the members of EFISZ—we are able to take action within the framework of the Association to make the knowledge and spread of digital financial solutions a natural part of everyday life.’
‘We are also very pleased to welcome GRÁNIT Bank among our members, since following the Bank’s activities, it is clear that it significantly promotes conscious and environmentally friendly payment and purchase decisions with its innovation initiatives, digital solutions, and scheme for young people—which are all outstanding both in Hungary and internationally—, as well as with its efforts towards sustainability,’ emphasised Mihály Veres, President of EFISZ.