In a statement, QCB outlined that it will receive the applications for licenses in September 2023, pointing out that all instructions pertaining to applications can be found on QCB's official website.
The announcement comes to standardise the work of BNPL's service providers in Qatar, in conformity with the financial sector strategy and QCB's constant endeavour to regularise and upgrade the financial sector in the country.
In April 2023, the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with R3 to support the development of Qatar’s financial technologies.In accordance with this agreement, R3 and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) will work together to create a lab environment that will serve the needs of Qatari commercial banks and fintech businesses. The partnership will also focus on promoting educational initiatives and training related to asset digitisation and the utilisation of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Additionally, both entities will form working groups to monitor emerging regulatory trends and support the national implementation of DLT within the QFC.
The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) is a legal and tax division of the QFC, which operates as an onshore financial and business centre in the region. On the other hand, R3 is a global provider of enterprise distributed ledger technology (DLT) and services, offering multi-party solutions to enhance digital trust and facilitate opportunities for regulated businesses worldwide.
R3 representatives highlighted their willingness to work with QFC to promote initiatives around asset digitalisation and DLT while using their experience and expertise to support the growth of Qatar-based fintech companies.
In September 2022, the central bank stated that the license represented an initial step to include all companies providing digital payment services under the supervision of the Qatar Central Bank to contribute to the development of the financial technology sector and improve financial inclusion.
It is worth noting that Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Therefore, the gulf state worked to scale up its tourism sector and this included improving its digital payments infrastructure in anticipation of a surge in foreign visitors.
One of the examples is the announcement of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) enabling its customers to pay for transactions with their QIB cards stored in Google Pay where contactless payments were available. QIB has introduced Google Pay to debit, credit, and prepaid cardholders who could use their Android and WearOS devices to tap and pay on the go.
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