JEDDAH, 17 April 2003 — Credit card use among Saudis is growing steeply, with the Kingdom also showing the fastest increase of transactions per card, according to a survey.
However, American-based credit cards have recently suffered setbacks as a result of the US-led war in Iraq. “Our new membership campaign has suffered in the recent past due to a boycott of American products,” an official at a leading American card company told Arab News yesterday.
Europe-based card companies on the other hand report a considerable growth in membership.
“I find European-based cards are accepted in more outlets in many countries than the American-based cards,” said Sami M. Hassan, a local businessman. “Card usage among Saudis has gone up steeply, especially in the past five years,” says the businessman who is a frequent traveler.
Cardholders told Arab News that the type of purchases they make has expanded from high cost sectors such as travel, jewelry and electronics to include everyday items and services such as groceries and clothing.
Saudi cardholders are increasingly enjoying the use of cards and continue to lead the Middle East as the highest spenders, with a staggering 32 percent annual growth to reach an average spend per card of over SR32,600, according to the annual review of Visa International for 2002.
During 2002, over 81 million transactions were recorded, a rise of 40 percent since 2001. This figure translates to nearly 10,000 transactions per hour and is twice the number of transactions compared to any other Middle East country.
