The State of Qatar has witnessed significant advancement in the financial technology sector over the years, in step with the comprehensive development and renaissance the country has witnessed in recent decades. Qatar Central Bank has worked to continuously develop the financial sector, keeping pace with the global best practices and standards.
Qatar’s instant payment system (Fawran) has been a huge success and has revolutioned the payment landscape in the country. Fawran allows users to transfer funds between local bank accounts instantly, using a recipient’s mobile phone number or IBAN with reduced transfer fees. Payments reach recipients instantly and with reduced fee, compared to higher fees the customers had to pay the banks for conventional inter-bank fund transfers before Fawran’s launch.
Fawran was rolled out in March 2024 and has since recorded 5.5 million financial transactions worth QR10.1bn, according to Qatar Central Bank (QCB). There are 2.7 million registered individual accounts and 99,000 registered corporate accounts in Fawran system. Over the past year, Fawran recorded 28 percent average growth rate in transaction value and 31 percent average growth in transaction volume, according to the figures released by the central bank.
Fawran has proven its efficiency in facilitating and improving payment processes in terms of reducing the time required to transfer money between individuals and companies in Qatar.
It allows users to send and receive money instantly and securely. Fawran and other innovative services by the QCB are helping Qatar’s transition to a cashless society, which benefits the economy immensely by enhancing safety and security of payments, and removing unnecessary costs for businesses associated with handling physical cash. It also helps in documentation of the economy and environmental sustainability by doing away with processes involving printing and managing hard cash.
QCB’s Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan aims to expand advanced payment solutions such as digital wallets, virtual cards, and personal financial management tools.
