Visa (NYSE: V), a world leader in digital payments, today officially released its annual Stay Secure study for Egypt. This year’s comprehensive report, conducted by research firm Wakefield Research, assesses consumer awareness, digital commerce behaviors, and evolving fraud dynamics across the nation.
The 2026 edition highlights a profound transformation: while Egyptian consumers are aggressively adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools and social commerce pipelines to streamline their shopping experiences, strict expectations around transactional security, institution-led fraud prevention, and checkout trust remain non-negotiable.
The AI Revolution in Egyptian E-Commerce
Artificial intelligence has officially transitioned from a futuristic concept into a mainstream shopping companion for the vast majority of digital consumers in Egypt. According to the study, an overwhelming 91% of consumers in Egypt have used AI to assist with shopping journeys, signaling deep integration into everyday retail habits.
The primary driver behind this rapid adoption is convenience. A staggering 97% of respondents feel that AI-powered tools make online shopping significantly faster and easier. Furthermore, AI has become a powerful discovery mechanism, with 71% of consumers stating they typically discover entirely new brands or digital retailers through AI-guided interactions.
Breaking Down AI Shopping Behaviors and the Checkout Friction
Egyptian shoppers leverage conversational and predictive AI utilities across multiple touchpoints prior to making a final purchase decision. The top use cases identified in the report include:
Price Comparison Matrices: Highly utilized by 75% of consumers to source competitive market deals.
Curated Gift Discovery: Applied by 65% of shoppers looking for personalized gift ideas.
Review and Rating Audits: Trusted by 65% of buyers to cross-examine product quality and merchant authenticity.
Despite this enthusiasm, a sharp trust deficit emerges at the exact moment of financial conversion. Only 38% of consumers today trust autonomous AI agents to complete the actual checkout process. This finding underscores a critical challenge for businesses entering the era of agentic commerce: while consumers welcome AI for research, exploration, and filtration, they demand direct human control and oversight when moving money.
Social Commerce Gains Traction Amid Rising Scam Vulnerabilities
Purchasing products directly through social channels has become a mainstream consumer habit in Egypt, with 85% of consumers having completed transactions directly via social media platforms. However, this decentralized commerce ecosystem has also expanded the regional cyber threat landscape.
The study indicates that 36% of Egyptian consumers have experienced a financial scam over the past 12 months. Among those who fell victim to fraudulent activity, a significant 46% report that the incident occurred directly on social media—outpacing scams encountered on traditional e-commerce websites, digital marketplaces, or dedicated mobile shopping apps.
Protecting the Next Generation in a Mobile-First Economy
As families increasingly transition to mobile-first financial utilities, children are facing unprecedented exposure to digital deceptive practices. The report highlights that 35% of parents in Egypt have granted their children direct access to mobile payment apps or digital wallets.
This early financial autonomy has created pronounced security concerns:
Identification Struggles: An alarming 91% of consumers report that children in their lives struggle to independently recognize online scams.
Direct Victimization: A significant 61% of respondents have witnessed a child fall victim to a scam while gaming or shopping online.
Consumers Expect Institutions to Anchor Payment Defenses
When addressing accountability in the digital age, Egyptian shoppers firmly look toward systemic institutions rather than individual vigilance to police fraud. Only 13% of consumers believe that individuals should bear the primary responsibility for fraud protection when transacting online.
Instead, respondents place the onus of sovereign consumer protection on macro entities:
Government Authorities and Regulators: Cited by 47% as the primary line of defense.
Banks and Financial Institutions: Identified by 43% as the chief protectors.
Payment Network Providers: Selected by 28% of the population.
To bridge this expectation gap, consumers are demanding real-time reassurance. 64% of respondents state that receiving instant, real-time alerts from their banking institution or payment app when a transaction looks suspicious would make them feel significantly more secure. Additionally, 44% of shoppers feel more comfortable finalizing a purchase if they see a familiar, trusted secure payment logo displayed prominently at checkout.
“Visa’s Stay Secure study shows that while online shopping and social commerce continue to grow, scams and fraud are evolving too," stated Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant & Pakistan at Visa. "Consumers see fraud protection as a shared responsibility, but they expect financial institutions, governments, and payment providers to take the lead, underscoring the importance of secure-by-design payment systems. As commerce moves toward more agentic, AI-powered experiences, consumers are embracing convenience but remain cautious when it comes to AI completing purchases on their behalf. With Visa Intelligent Commerce, we are helping enable the next era of commerce built on trust, control, and confidence.”
About the Stay Secure Study 2026
The annual Stay Secure study was commissioned by Visa and executed by Wakefield Research between January and February 2026. The comprehensive research polled 5,800 adults across 17 diverse Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) markets—including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Ukraine—to deliver a benchmark assessment of consumer sentiment and fraud awareness.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating seamless transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Visa’s mission is to connect the world through an innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive through comprehensive financial inclusion.
