How small business optimism in the UAE compares globally

Visa, which said it has helped to digitally-enable 16 million SMBs worldwide, revealed the figure in the fifth edition of the Visa Back to Business global study.

“With an 18-month view into the pandemic now, we have seen that small businesses that have embraced digital commerce and cross-border selling have generally weathered the pandemic and that seemingly small pivots toward digital commerce can continue to make the difference between a small business surviving and thriving,” said Shahebaz Khan, Visa’s general manager for the UAE.”

The study showed that 88 percent of SMBs in the UAE are optimistic about the future of their business including 64 percent (compared to 50 percent globally) who are very optimistic, which was the highest proportion of all markets surveyed.

Nearly half (49 percent vs 40 percent globally) of SMBs in the UAE said accepting contactless payments is among their top investment areas to meet consumer expectations.

The majority (84 percent vs 74 percent globally) of SMBs in the UAE also said they believe that customers will continue to prefer contactless payments as much or more than they do today.

The shift to contactless payments is becoming more permanent with nearly all (92 percent) consumers in the UAE saying Covid-19 has permanently changed their payment habits (compared to 68 percent globally).

Nearly three in four (73 percent) UAE consumers would not shop at a store that does not accept contactless payments (compared to 44 percent globally) while one in three (33 percent vs 21 percent globally) of UAE consumers have not used cash in the last week, the second highest among all markets, according to the survey.

It also highlighted a continued relevance of omnichannel commerce with more than half (56 percent vs 33 percent globally) of UAE consumers saying they are at least somewhat more likely to shop in person compared to last summer, the highest among all markets.

Visa said it has continued to deepen and localise its commitment to SMBs in the UAE over the last 18 months to help them revitalise and reinvent their businesses.

The company said it has been working with several UAE banks to pilot Tap to Phone solutions that make it easier for local merchants to accept payments while also rolling out Rapid Seller Onboarding to enable SMBs to accept digital payments from their customers in-store/at point-of-sale or online within just seven working days.

The Visa Back to Business Study was conducted by Wakefield Research between June 15-28, 2021, among 2,250 small business owners at companies with 100 employees or fewer in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, the UAE and United States.