Cashless transactions increase by 45% in Bahrain

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MANAMA: Cashless transactions in Bahrain jumped 45 per cent to BD341.6 million last month when compared with the same month of 2021, reveals data from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

There were nearly 14m point-of-sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions in Bahrain last month, 73.6pc of them contactless, the banking regulator said.

The figures reflect the trend in the rest of the GCC, which is currently experiencing a region-wide surge in online and digital payments as countries accelerate their transition towards cashless societies in the wake of the pandemic.

The highest number of transactions last month were carried out in restaurants (4,652,872), followed by supermarkets (3,225,515), health services (859,632), government services (774,008) and department stores (658,084).

In terms of value, government services at BD84.2m led the top five sectors, with supermarkets at BD38.5m coming next, followed by restaurants (BD36.5m), hotels and resorts (BD19.3m) and automobile dealers (BD16.4m).

The infographic shows electronic fund transfers in the kingdom increased during March 2022, extending the rising trend to more than fifteen months.

Transactions using Fawri, Fawri+ and Fawateer services, enabled by the electronic fund transfer system (EFTS), continue to see substantial growth.

Fawri+ is an almost real-time fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer funds of up to BD1,000 per day in less than 30 seconds; whereas Fawri is a deferred settlement fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer any amount within a few hours of the business day, and Fawateer provides real-time bill payments.

Last month, Fawri+ accounted for the vast majority (90.9pc) of EFTS transactions, followed by Fawateer at 4.7pc and Fawri at 4.4pc.

However, in terms of transaction value, Fawri was the leader at 74pc, followed by Fawri+ at 23.1pc and Fawateer at 2.9pc.

The number of transactions completed through Fawri+ in March 2022 amounted to 19,447,799, up 97.76pc from March 2021.

In terms of value, Fawri+ transactions amounted to BD530m last month, up 51.08pc from the same month last year.

As for Fawri, the number of transactions was up 20.63pc at 942,818 from the same month last year.

Transactions made through the Fawateer service amounted to 1,004,574 higher by 43.45pc than March 2021.