Visa Tap to Phone Adoption Soars: 490% Year-over-Year Growth in the UAE

Al Bawaba

24-03-2025

Tap. Pay. Done. This simple, secure, and increasingly mobile action has transformed the shopping experience and unlocked opportunities for small businesses worldwide. Today, Visa announced that Tap to Phone has experienced a 200% increase over the past year, supporting millions of sellers of all sizes. In the UAE, adoption rates have also surged, showing a growth rate 490%.
Tap to Phone expanded Visa's tap capabilities with a technology that turns a smartphone into a point-of-sale (POS) device, simply by downloading an app. This technology is helping to democratize access to commerce tools and empower microsellers and SMBs around the world to start accepting contactless payments by using their NFC-enabled smartphones.
'Tap to Phone's is a game changer for small and medium-sized businesses, offering them a secure, cost-effective way to access the digital economy,' said Salima Gutieva, Visa's VP and Country Manager for UAE. 'We're constantly innovating to expand our tap capabilities and create the best payments experiences for people and businesses. The significant growth in adoption is a testament to the technology's impact and potential.'
Empowering businesses of all sizes
From market stalls to major retailers, Tap to Phone empowers businesses of all sizes to accept payments effortlessly, creating a seamless and fast checkout experience for customers. Business owners globally report increased confidence, streamlined operations, and accelerated growth with Visa's Tap to Phone. The growing adoption of Tap to Phone is expected to continue as more businesses recognize its advantages.
In Ukraine, where NovaPost has implemented Tap to Phone for their courier services, 80% of all digital transactions are now processed through this solution. Similarly, in South Africa, Visa's partner iKhokha is leveraging Tap to Phone to provide businesses with mobile payment acceptance. As a result, iKhokha merchants have seen a 50% growth in the number of Tap to Phone transactions within six months since the launch, with continuous growth observed daily.
The Future of Tap
This upward trend for Tap to Phone is expected to continue through the next year as more consumers and businesses may begin to recognize the benefits of tap technology and more use cases may hit the market.
For example, Tap to Add Card enables users to add eligible credit or debit cards to their digital wallet by simply tapping a card to their phone. Since Tap to Add Card rolled out globally with Apple Pay in September 2024, it has picked up traction and enabled millions of tokens for more than 100 issuers, helping achieve higher authorization rates and fraud reduction rates. Visa cardholders can add their Visa cards to Apple Wallet faster than ever, with no need to manually input card details.
Visa has also developed Tap to Confirm, which allows consumers to quickly and securely authenticate a high value transfer. Tap to Confirm will be soon available across Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA).