Israel
Israel Limits Use of Cash to Accelerate Growth of Cashless Payments
Population
Israel had an estimated population of 8,655,535 as of the middle of 2020, according to UN data. Based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest UN data, the country had a population of 8,742,544 in February 2021, with 93.2% living in urban areas, mainly Jerusalem. The median age of the population was 30.5 years.
E-commerce
The average annual revenue per paying user in Israel stood at $1,629 in 2020, according to the PPRO MEAF Report. Most cross-border e-commerce purchases by Israelis are of products from the United States, China and Germany.
Payment preferences
Most Israeli shoppers prefer to pay with cards (76%), followed by e-wallets, cash and other payment methods. For cashless payments, the biggest player was Visa (44%), followed by MasterCard, local schemes, Amex, and other services, according to 2020 PPRO MEAF.
Economy
According to the IMF data, Israel had a gross domestic product of $394.65 billion in 2019, which declined to $383.43 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic. As the economy continues to recover, the GDP is expected to expand to about $408.51 billion in 2021.
Internet & mobile phone trends
Current data for Israeli internet users by age group is not available, with the latest compiled in 2016 showing 93% of people in the 25-34 age group with internet access. According to Datareportal, there were 7.68 million internet users in Israel in January 2021, when internet penetration stood at 88%. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration stood at 83% by the end of 2020, according to the PPRO MEAF Report.
Banking
According to data compiled by PPRO MEAF, 93% of Israel’s had bank accounts in 2020, with 75% of them credit card holders.