Qatar Central Bank (QCB) announced that it has granted its first license for digital payment services to Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo Money.
Qatar is gearing up for a significant influx of tourists and visitors, working to ensure that the country’s infrastructure is on par as FIFA 2022 Qatar approaches. QCB urged local and international financial institutions to work together to provide visitors with the best possible digital payment experience during the FIFA World Cup.
Digital Payment License from Qatar to Vodafone and Ooredoo
It is estimated that the FIFA World Cup will bring 1.5 million visitors to Qatar. Therefore, the country has granted its first digital payment license to have a payment system that will meet the needs of both local and international visitors.
Ooredoo and Vodafone, which now have digital payment licenses, will perform transactions in accordance with the requirements and standards set by QCB. Ooredoo’s Money Wallet and Vodafone’s iPay service will allow users to manage their financial transactions, send money and pay quickly and easily from anywhere using their mobile phones.
أصدر مصرف قطر المركزي أول ترخيص في الدولة لشركتين تمارسان نشاط تقديم خدمات الدفع الإلكتروني.#مصرف_قطر_المركزي pic.twitter.com/XSqoO1V3SO
— مصرف قطر المركزي (@QCBQATAR) August 30, 2022
This development comes after QCB announced that its banks are ready to launch payment services using GooglePay, ApplePay and Samsung Pay.
QCB also announced that electronic wallet services used by all global card companies will be accepted in Qatar.