An illustrative image made by AI.
The study, conducted from January to February 2026, involved 5,800 adults aged 18 and above across 17 markets in Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and indicated a shift in consumer behavior and awareness regarding digital commerce, fraud, and expectations of trust, Visa said in its annual Stay Safe study released on Tuesday.
The data comes from Visa’s most recent study on Egypt, conducted by the US market research firm Wakefield.
Among local consumers turning to AI-assisted shopping, 75 percent of survey participants use it to compare prices, 65 percent use it to find gift ideas, and another 65 percent use it to view product ratings and reviews.
The survey also showed that 97 percent of Egyptian participants believe AI-powered tools are making shopping faster and easier, with 71 percent discovering new brands or retailers through AI.
Trust remains a work in progress; however, only 38 percent of participants said they would trust AI tools to complete the checkout process, with consumers remaining wary of AI handling transactions on their behalf.
The growth of AI has coincided with the rise of social media-based commerce, with 85 percent of consumers purchasing products directly through social media platforms.
AI continues to reshape industrial operations, financial services, and regulatory frameworks in Egypt, amid increasing government efforts to integrate AI into public services under the National Council for Artificial Intelligence’s second National AI Strategy for 2025–2030, launched last year.
This comes as Egypt shifts toward a cashless economy. The number of Egyptians aged 15 and above with active financial accounts rose to 77.6 percent by the end of 2025, up from 76.3 percent in June 2025.
Cashless transactions in Egypt are also expected to increase to $27.63 billion by 2027. The local market has seen increasing collaboration between fintech firms, such as Visa and Mastercard, and global payment networks to scale up card issuance and improve acceptance across retail and online channels.
Moreover, AI is increasingly being viewed as a technological solution for detecting fraud. This comes as consumers view fraud protection as a “shared responsibility” among financial institutions, governments, and payment providers, “underscoring the importance of secure-by-design payment systems,” said Visa Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for North Africa, the Levant, and Pakistan, Leila Serhan.
The study showed that 88 percent believe AI will become a major factor in protecting consumers from fraud in the future, while 63 percent said AI has made it easier to detect and recognize scams.
The same cannot be said for children, who are increasingly exposed to scams. Ninety-one percent of consumers reported that children in their lives still struggle to recognize a scam.
Meanwhile, 61 percent said they had seen a child fall victim to a scam while shopping or gaming online, while 35 percent of Egyptian parents surveyed said their children have access to mobile payment apps or digital wallets.
Other consumers also remain vigilant, with 36 percent reporting that they had experienced a financial scam in the past 12 months as online commerce expands to new channels.
Among those who had been scammed, 46 percent said the fraud occurred through social media, compared with those who encountered scams on websites, online marketplaces, or shopping apps.
As a result, consumers are looking to institutions for protection. Forty-seven percent believe government authorities or regulators should bear responsibility, while 43 percent want to rely on banks and financial institutions, 28 percent want payment providers to provide scam protection, and only 13 percent believe consumers should bear sole responsibility.
Egyptian consumers are asking for more proactive reassurance. Sixty-four percent said they feel more secure when receiving real-time alerts from their banks or payment applications when suspicious activity is detected, while 44 percent said they would feel more comfortable seeing a familiar and trusted logo at checkout.
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