Pic by: Oussama Abbasi/The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar witnessed a significant growth in e-commerce and point of sale (POS) transactions in October, Qatar Central Bank (QCB) data has revealed.
The volume of e-commerce transactions reached 8.08 million in October 2024 with a value of QR3.97bn showing a year-on-year surge in value of e-commerce transactions by 17 percent and 39 percent in October 2023 and 2022 respectively.
The volume of e-commerce transactions in Qatar reached 6.20 million and 5.10 million in October 2023 and 2022 respectively.
Also, the Point of Sale transactions in Qatar have seen an increase in October of this year.
POS transactions were valued at QR8.07bn in October 2024 compared to QR7.65bn in October 2023 and QR6.89bn in October 2022 showing a surge of 6 percent and 17 percent respectively.
The volume of point of sale transactions stood at 38.09 million in October this year, while it was 32.06 million in the same month last year and 28.39 million in October 2022, an increase of 19 percent and 34 percent respectively.
Meanwhile the number of point of sale devices in Qatar totalled 75,979 in October this year compared with 69,857 in October 2023 and 58,766 in October 2022, QCB data further noted.
PoS solution provides innovative, secure, and highly efficient payment processing services as it supports contactless card transactions, eWallet, mobile PoS (mPOS), QR code scanner, and online billing and settlement.
The official data also showed the total count of active cards in Qatar in October. The number of active debit cards stood at 2,402,181. While the credit cards and prepaid cards totalled, 757,927 and 752,352 respectively in October 2024.
Qatar’s e-commerce industry is poised for substantial growth with forecasts predicting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.40 percent by 2028.
QCB’s innovative instant payment service ‘Fawran’ aims to develop a digital payment ecosystem in the country.
The service significantly benefits customers across the country and enables the beneficiaries to receive funds within seconds. It operates 24/7 and can be used through mobile banking applications and digital channels.
In line with the Third Financial Sector Strategy, and in the framework of developing the country’s digital payments infrastructure, QCB launched Himyan Debit Card.
It is the first national prepaid card with a registered trademark in Qatar and is available at banks which can be used at all point of sale, ATMs, and online e-commerce transactions within the country.
