Visa expenditure by Saudi cardholders is the highest in the Middle East with total expenditure crossing $19 billion during 2002, an increase of 30 per cent.

This figure accounts for almost half of all Visa spending across the Middle East, which reached nearly $40 billion during 2002, and more than three times more than UAE cardholders who spent approximately $6 billion throughout the year.

Total Visa card numbers in the Middle East currently stand at 6.9 million, a growth of 16 per cent.

Across other Middle East markets, Kuwait cardholder expenditure ranked second highest with $8 billion, a growth of 23 per cent over 2001.

Oman and Jordan both recorded a total expenditure volume of over $1 billion, followed by Lebanon and Qatar, while Bahrain exceeded $500 million.

"We are very excited to see such remarkable growth amongst the Saudi community," said Peter Scriven, general manager for Visa International in the Middle East.

"Five years ago, card usage was much lower and accounted for approximately $6 billion per year. Since then, through various joint efforts with our member banks, Visa card expenditure has risen by 228 per cent illustrating that consumers are increasingly more aware of the benefits of cards over cash.

Significantly, although card numbers remain steady at over 2.2 million, Saudi cardholders are using their Visa cards more than ever before with cardholders spending an average of $8,700 per card throughout 2002 - this represents 32 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2001.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Kuwait demonstrated the second highest growth in the region with a 13 per cent increase in total average spend per card to reach $7,100.

This was followed by a 12 per cent increase in Jordanian cardholder annual expenditure to total $1,439 per card.