• Cash usage in peer-to-peer payments fell sharply by 19 percentage points

Kuwait City, Kuwait: Across Kuwait, payment habits continue to rapidly evolve, with more consumers embracing faster, more secure digital experiences. Visa’s third edition of ‘Where Cash Hides’ report[1] shows 59% of Kuwait consumers are largely non-cash users, making most of their payments with payments cards or mobile devices. This is an increase of 4% compared with last year, highlighting a clear move away from cash.

Digital Payments Break into Cash-Heavy Categories

The appeal of cash is also decreasing in day-to-day purchases. Only 30% of Kuwait consumers surveyed use cash for everyday purchases, down from 40% last year. This downward trend is visible across all major categories where cash remains popular, including app-based (-24%), bills (-21%), eating out (-9%).

For everyday spending such as bill payment, eating out, and taxi journeys, debit cards and mobile payments are the payment method of choice, while credit cards are more commonly used for occasional and less frequent purchases. In making payments to another person (or peer-to-peer (P2P) payments), tips are still paid in cash by 61% of Kuwait consumers, the most common remaining cash use. Cash is also widely used for peer-to-peer services (29%), for property rent payments (12%), and international money transfers through exchange houses (9%).

“We see clear changes in how people in Kuwait choose to pay, particularly in peer-to-peer payments, where the share of consumers relying on cash has declined noticeably. These insights show a market that is steadily modernizing,” said Mohamed Reyad, Visa’s Country Manager for Kuwait. “As more people try mobile and card payments in their daily lives and their expectations evolve, too. Consumers want payment options that are quick, convenient, and safe. When digital solutions meet these expectations, they naturally become the preferred choice."

The findings of Visa’s Where Cash Hides research suggest Kuwait consumers’ growing reliance on digital payments because they are more convenient, secure and rewarding. Compared to cash, debit and credit cards offer consumers greater security, convenience, and transparency. They eliminate the risks of carrying physical money, enable seamless online and in-store purchases, and provide instant transaction records for better budgeting. Mobile payments offer enhanced convenience and security through tokenization, which replaces sensitive card details with unique digital identifiers so the actual card number is never shared.

Credit and prepaid cards come with rewards programs, cashback offers, and travel or lifestyle benefits, value benefits that consumers have come to expect when they spend at home or travel abroad.

About Visa Inc.

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

[1] The research is based on an online survey of 1,200 individuals across GCC in 2025. The second wave was conducted in 2024.