Khaberni - A report from Visa Credit mentions an increase in the use of digital applications in daily financial transactions in several countries around the world in 2025, compared to traditional means of payments such as cash and checks, which are increasingly seen as carrying a higher degree of risk.
The Visa report, released last Thursday and titled "Adoption of Digital Financial Transactions in 2025," indicates that Saudi Arabia is among the countries that have experienced a surge in the use of digital applications for financial transactions. This includes 20 countries surveyed in various regions of the world, covering about 44,000 operations of sending and receiving money through digital applications.
According to Visa's report, 67% of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia prefer receiving money digitally through applications rather than collecting it in person, marking an increase of 20% from the previous year.
Easier and Safer
The popularity of digital applications in Saudi Arabia, according to the report, is due to ease of use and security. The report noted that 47% of participants in Saudi Arabia stated that money transfers are sent and received securely, privately, and quickly, 45% noted the ease of use for sending and receiving, and 43% expressed peace of mind when relying on them to carry out financial transactions.
However, digital transfers from physical locations remain the most common method for sending money according to 59% of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia.
The Visa report also noted that despite a slight decrease in financial transfers in the Middle East generally, which saw a decrease of 6%, the majority of those surveyed still send and receive money at least once a year.
Despite this decrease, the percentage of annual financial transfers remains exceptionally high compared to other regions covered in the report.
In Saudi Arabia, the percentage of those expecting to send or receive money remains virtually stable at 28%, compared to last year.
Reasons for Sending Financial Transfers
The Visa report clarifies that the main reasons for sending financial transfers from Saudi Arabia abroad are:
- Meeting general humanitarian needs, which is the most significant reason.
- Sending transfers periodically.
- Sending transfers for emergency reasons.
The main reasons for receiving financial transfers in Saudi Arabia are to increase the value of personal accounts and investment.
Advantages of Digital Transfers
The Visa study points out that sending digital transfers from physical locations is the safest method, as stated by about 33% of the participants from Saudi Arabia.
About 38% of the participants in the survey in Saudi Arabia noted that they did not face any problems in sending and receiving money transfers through digital transactions.
However, about 27% of the survey participants mentioned the increase in fees as the most significant barrier to sending and receiving money transfers.
Also, 41% in Saudi Arabia mentioned the difficulty of going to an actual location to send money transfers.
