The Qatar Central Bank has initiated a major project that aims a "world class payment infrastructure with state-of-art technology" as the demand for electronic payments is steadily growing and expected to "increase substantially" during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The project will transform the retail payment infrastructure in the country to cope with the increasing demand, the QCB said in its latest Financial Stability Review.
The project aims at “building a world class payment infrastructure with state-of-art technology that facilitates a safe, secure and efficient payment ecosystem in Qatar.”
Another initiative taken by the QCB was in the area of fintech and allied areas.
Recognising the role of fintech and non-bank payment services providers, in the development of the Qatar economy, several measures have been initiated by the QCB to support the growth of fintech, while addressing the risks posed by them.
The initiatives include a regulatory framework for licensing and overseeing operations of fintech and a regulatory sandbox that supports fintech and other innovators to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under the QCB’s supervision.
An exclusive fintech section was also set up at the QCB, which acts as a single window for all fintech-related regulatory requirements.
Financial inclusion has always been a priority area for the QCB. A first step towards a broader financial inclusion is to provide access to a transaction account to all since a transaction account allows people to store money, and send and receive payments.
Reaffirming its commitment to enhance financial inclusion in Qatar, the QCB has advised all banks in Qatar to provide bank accounts to domestic workers without any minimum balance requirements to receive their salaries. They will also be issued debit cards free of cost to use in all payment channels such as POS terminals, ATMs, mobiles, etc.
Banks have also been advised to conduct financial education programmes to raise financial literacy among the workers to ensure safe usage of electronic payment methods.
According to the QCB, payment and settlement systems are critical components of the economic and financial infrastructures of modern economies.
Safe and efficient functioning of payment and settlement systems are, therefore, essential for the maintenance and promotion of financial stability and economic growth. The QCB as the operator, regulator and overseer of the payment and settlement systems in Qatar, has taken several policy initiatives in the past to develop safe, secure and efficient payment and settlement systems for transforming Qatar into a digital economy.
This process received further momentum in 2020, when social distancing became new norm due to the covid-19 induced pandemic.
The policy measures were also guided by the QCB’s strategic plan for the financial sector (2017-2022) and the Qatar National Vision 2030, which places a greater emphasis on achieving a secure cashless society with enhanced financial inclusion.
The QCB noted 2020 has been quite challenging for the stakeholders of the payments system infrastructure due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Amid this difficult operating environment, financial institutions operating in Qatar have generally dealt well with the risk management challenges posed by the first wave of the pandemic, including those presented by sharp increases in demand for electronic payments methods, particularly due to closure of exchange houses and reduced working hours of banks with active policy support from the QCB.