Around 85 per cent of online purchasers in the region would rather pay cash on delivery than pay online by card, according to recent statistics from Dubai’s GO-Gulf published on compareit4me.com, a top finance comparison site.

Jonathan Rawling, CFO of compareit4me said: “We know that ‘cash on delivery’ is still a popular payment option in the region and we don’t want to leave these customers out in the cold. We have, therefore, created an option for people to be able to purchase their insurance online through our site but pay in cash.”

“We will arrange collection of the payment from the customer’s home or office. This will enable customers who don’t feel comfortable paying online, or who are unable to for whatever reason, to still benefit from the ability to compare between products online and choose the one that is right for them.”

A report released by Payfort, an online payment gateway and payment solutions provider, stated “Ecommerce is the fastest growing sector and by 2020 it will be nipping on the heels of airlines to become the biggest.”

Payfort predicts that, by 2020, the commerce market in the Arab world will be worth as much as $13.4 billion (Dh49 billion).

“Interestingly, in the UAE, we have a higher percentage of the population using ecommerce when compared with other countries in the region – a whopping 71 per cent. Yet, despite this widespread uptake of purchasing online region-wide, 50 per cent of online shoppers still choose to pay by ‘cash on delivery’,” Payfort said.

The survey by Dubai-based web design company GO-Gulf also found that 42 per cent of people believe that the ability to compare between stores and brands online would improve their shopping experience.

Rawling added: “We have certainly seen a dramatic increase in the number of people interested in purchasing insurance, loans and other finance solutions online with the number of visitors to our site increasing by 300 per cent over the past two years. People evidently enjoy the freedom of being able to compare products and brands from the comfort of their desk, or home. Giving them the option to pay in the way which best suits them will only encourage them further.” – TradeArabia News Service