UAE ranked eighth in the list of most cashless economies
Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Norway, UAE, Switzerland, and Finland are the top ten cashless countries; according to reports.
A cashless society describes an economic state in which financial transactions are not carried out in the form of physical banknotes or coins, but through the transmission of digital information (usually the electronic representation of currency) between the parties to the transaction.
The UAE is the world’s eighth most cashless country, as the pandemic support the country’s fast-growing digital payments sector, a new survey reported.
The countries with cashless economies were revealed using data from the World Bank and the largest debit and credit card providers in the world
Meanwhile, the UAE is likely to become the first cashless country in the Middle East, with 83 per cent of its population owning a debit card and four major e-wallet providers in operation.
The ranking is topped by Canada, which is most likely to be the first country in the world to banish banknotes in exchange for electronic payments and e-wallets.
Hong Kong is the world’s second-most cashless economy, followed by Singapore, according to the rating.
“The move away from banknotes and coins towards plastic payments and e-wallets presents many advantages,” Mr Andrews said.
Cashless payments allow for quick and easy transactions when international travel fully resumes, and the creation of digital paper trails could help to reduce tax fraud and money laundering, he added.
However, “as with many technological advancements, there is some concern that the change could leave vulnerable individuals behind”.
Any move towards a fully cashless economy will need to be met with infrastructural changes, as well as potentially legislative ones, Mr Andrews added.
