More Bahrain Consumers Using Digital Payments, Yet 17% of Transactions Still in Cash: Visa’s ‘Where Cash Hides’ Research

Research reveals motivators for cash usage and highlights opportunities to drive financial inclusion and enhance payment experience for consumers and businesses in Bahrain
Cash is used more often in both peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, including tips, money exchanges between friends and family and rent, and everyday spending
Visa’s Malak Alsaffar: Significant opportunity to extend the digital economy to more consumers and businesses in Bahrain

Manama, Bahrain, 27 January, 2025: While Bahrain is at the forefront of digital payments, 17% of transactions of consumers surveyed are still in cash, according to the first edition of Visa’s ‘Where Cash Hides’ research in the country.

The research, based on a survey of 2,800 individuals across GCC, examined the overall frequency of and motivations for cash usage. It identifies cash-heavy categories and proposes easier, more secure digital payment solutions for both consumers and local businesses.

Key survey findings

Cash in specific transactions (by % of consumers surveyed):

In Bahrain, P2P transactions (28%) and everyday spending (14%) form a large portion of cash usage.

Within the P2P segment, tips (54%) was the top category surveyed Bahrain consumers use cash. This was followed by money exchanges between friends and family (28%) and property rent (22%). International transfers through exchange houses saw the lowest cash usage at only 6%.
Everyday spending like petrol stations (23%), offline taxi (20%) and app-based taxi (18%) are mostly where cash is used. Bill payment saw the lowest cash usage at only 6%.

Motivators for cash usage (by % of consumers surveyed):

The top reasons respondents prefer cash for P2P are speed (36%) and convenience (35%). For everyday spends, speed (31%) and habit (30%) were cited as the top reasons. For around 15% of respondents, cash was used for both P2P and everyday spends because cards were not accepted.

Implications and solutions:

Efforts to introduce convenient and secure solutions such as Visa Direct (P2P, tips and other disbursements, and remittances), Click to Pay (better online checkout experience) and Tap to Phone (low-cost acceptance solution for SMBs, freelancers and taxi) will further drive digital payments and increase card acceptance in the categories identified.
Encouraging mobile and contactless payments also presents a pathway to increasing digital payments usage for everyday expenses. This requires education on acceptance and security of digital payments for both banked and unbanked populations.

Malak Alsaffar, Visa’s Country Manager for Bahrain, commented, “Despite progress with digital payment adoption in Bahrain, around 17% of consumer transactions are still in cash. For Visa, this represents an opportunity to further drive financial inclusion and digitize commerce in the country. Visa’s Where Cash Hides research — which we conducted for the first time in Bahrain — pinpoints precisely where and how Visa, together with our partners, can help grow the digital economy. At Visa, we remain committed to supporting the Bahrain government’s cashless agenda and enabling local businesses in creating a better payment experience for everyone, everywhere in Bahrain."

Despite the cash usage, consumers’ overall reliance on cash is low. For 58% of respondents in Bahrain, only 1-2 out of their last 10 transactions were in cash. Only 17% of respondents claimed that none of their last 10 transactions were made with cash, highlighting the need for payment industry players to continue to collaborate in supporting the Bahrain government’s cashless agenda.

For more information and details on the ‘Where Cash Hides’ Survey click here.