Digital Economy Trust Index Insights

May 14, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — According to a press release from Checkout.com, the company has launched its first Digital Economy Trust Index, ranking 16 countries based on consumer trust in online systems. The index highlights a strong link between trust in the digital economy and national GDP growth, suggesting that countries with higher digital trust tend to experience greater economic expansion. While the index explores various aspects of digital trust, consumer confidence in security, transparency, and user experience are key factors. Interestingly, the data reveals regional differences in trust levels, with countries in the Middle East and China showing high trust, while European nations and North America tend to have lower confidence, particularly regarding emerging technologies like blockchain and AI. The index aims to provide valuable insights for businesses and policymakers to understand and address barriers to digital trust in order to foster economic development.

There is a strong direct correlation between consumer trust in the digital economy and individual country GDP growth rates. This correlation was observed between 2014 and 2024.

The critical importance of digital trust to economic growth in the modern era. The Digital Economy Trust Index, launched by Checkout.com, measures this confidence and trust. The Index is intended to help businesses, policymakers, and technology providers understand factors influencing trust, with the ultimate goal of growing trust in the digital economy to stimulate broader economic growth.

Specifically, the Pearson correlation coefficient between national GDP growth rates and the Digital Economy Trust Index is approximately -0.71. The sources explain that this negative correlation suggests that higher GDP growth rates are associated with better (i.e., lower-numbered) rankings in trust in the digital economy. This means countries with higher trust in the digital economy tend to have higher GDP growth rates.

To stimulate economic growth, governments and businesses are urged to urgently work together to increase trust in the digital economy and educate consumers on safe online behaviours. Embedding trust into digital platforms is also seen as a way to unlock more growth for everyone.

Based on the sources provided:

China tops the inaugural Digital Economy Trust Index ranking with a trust rating of 8.6 out of 10.

It is followed by:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in second place.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in third place.

Egypt in fourth place.

The Middle East region, specifically including the UAE, KSA, and Egypt, dominates the top ranks in trust in the digital economy.

Japan ranks last in the inaugural Digital Economy Trust Index ranking.

Japan is ranked 16th out of the 16 countries included in the Index. Its overall trust rating is just 2.6 out of 10. The sources note that this low ranking is surprising considering the high rates of digitisation and e-commerce adoption in the region. France has the second lowest overall trust score in the Index, only scoring higher than Japan.

The top-ranked country in the inaugural Digital Economy Trust Index is China.

China leads the Index with a trust rating of 8.6 out of 10. According to the sources, China has a clear lead in trust in the digital economy, scoring full marks on trust in new payment methods, biometric security, and a belief that new technology makes payments safer. This strong performance suggests a mature technology infrastructure, cultural openness to digital innovation, and a supportive regulatory environment in China.

The inaugural Digital Economy Trust Index was launched on May 14, 2025.

Checkout.com, a global digital payments company, launched the Index to measure consumer confidence in digital platforms and rank countries based on security, transparency, and user experience in the digital economy.

The Digital Economy Trust Index is calculated based on three core pillars, each representing a key aspect of digital trust. These pillars are:

Usage and Behaviours: This pillar assesses how frequently and in what ways people engage with digital technologies, financial tools, and emerging innovations.

Trust in the System: This measures consumer confidence in the security, reliability, and integrity of digital systems.

Emerging Tech Adoption: This evaluates willingness to embrace and integrate newer technologies into daily life.

The pillars consist of six sub-pillars, which are based on survey responses from 18,000 consumers across 16 countries. The pillar score is calculated as the average of its six sub-pillars, and the final Digital Trust Economy Index score is the average of the three pillar scores.

Based on the sources, the factors that correlate most closely with the overall Digital Economy Trust Index score are:

Trust that new technology makes payment safer.

Trust in AI tools.

These were identified as the dimensions, out of 18 investigated, that showed the strongest correlation with consumer confidence in the digital economy. The sources note that this illustrates the inherent economic value of innovative payments and AI technologies.

Based on the sources, the Digital Economy Trust Index surveyed consumers across 16 countries.

The Index ranks these 16 countries based on consumer perception of security, transparency, and user experience in the digital economy. The methodology involved collecting survey responses from 18,000 consumers across 16 countries.