A June report by online payment gateway company PayFort has found that 75% of online transactions are made by consumers in their thirties or younger. Of the 3.5mn transactions made online in Egypt, 70% are made by men, with only 30% made by women. "Egyptians in this age group are frequent transactors in airline bookings, travel, e-commerce, and digital goods that represent 40% of overall transactions," said the report, State of Payments in the Arab World. The report highlighted that 99% of the online transactions are made by Egyptians while the remaining 1% are made by foreign nationalities. More than half of online purchasers reside in Cairo while the Delta, Upper Egypt and Alexandria comprise the remaining 43%. The report also said that 40% of expenditure is on electronics, airline tickets and clothing. "Hotel reservations only make up 6% of total online transactions, while books are higher than the regional average with 8% of total online transactions," the report added. In April, a study conducted by MasterCard showed Egyptian's online shopping rates are rising steadily, with 44% of the study's respondents stating that they have used internet to shop. The study added that 80% of the respondents are satisfied with their online shopping experience. The report said that Egyptian are challenged when it comes to online payments with only 7% of the population being banked and 8m credit and debit cards issued. "Egyptian users are challenged when it comes to online payments with over 65% relying on alternative payment methods such as pre-paid cards and bill presentation services and a 80% cash-on-delivery to 20% online credit card ration," the report said The report showed that 80% of the Egyptian Smartphone users make mobile purchases at least once per month.
