Doha, Qatar: Commercial establishments that do not provide electronic payment services to consumers may face temporary closure, a senior official said.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has directed all commercial establishments to provide electronic payment option to customers without any additional charge for the service.
“Electronic payment services aim to facilitate consumers without charging them any additional fees,” said Head of the Inspection Section of the Commercial Registration and Licensing Department of the CI Ministry, Saif Al Athba.
Speaking to Qatar TV, he said the punishment for not providing electronic payment service is the closure of commercial outlets for 14 days or until they remove the violation or the administrative closure is renewed.
Following the concept of “less cash, more security”, it has been made mandatory for all commercial establishments to provide customers with one of three types of electronic payment services: bank card, bank payment wallet or QR code.
Decision no. 70 of 2022 of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, which modifies some provisions of decision no. 161 of 2017 relating to the general and special conditions required of commercial, industrial and general points of sale, as well as those included in its scope.
Trading cash requires long processes, such as withdrawing money from the bank and taking cash to banks, among others. Electronic payments also help reduce the risk of counterfeit money and cash theft.
The Ministry of International Trade has already sent a circular to all commercial establishments that offer payment services through bank cards, asking them not to impose any additional charges for the use of the cards.
There are several types and modes of digital payments. Some of them include the use of debit/credit cards, internet banking, mobile wallets, digital payment applications, unified payments interface, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), prepaid bank cards and mobile banking, among others.
The authorities concerned have intensified their efforts to provide complete infrastructure for the electronic payment system in the country.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) develops the infrastructure for payment and settlement systems to provide an advanced system of payments and financial transfers that keeps up with the evolution of this sector.
Last month, QCB officially launched its ‘FAWRAN’ instant payment service, which is one of the innovative and advanced services, in line with the third strategy for the financial sector, and in continuation of QCB’s efforts to develop payment infrastructure. payment systems and keep pace. with the latest developments in the field of payment systems and electronic fund transfer.
‘FAWRAN’ reflects QCB’s keenness to provide the best services to the customers of banks and financial institutions in the country and meet their growing needs in line with the growing demand for financial technology services.
FAWRAN also facilitates financial and commercial transactions between the bank accounts of individuals and businesses, keeping pace with the rapid development seen by the national economy.
QCB also launched the Himyan Debit Card (Himyan) in line with the Financial Third Sector Strategy and within the framework of the development of the country’s digital payments infrastructure. The launch marks a qualitative addition to the electronic payment solutions available in Qatar and enriches the offerings for customers of local banks, while contributing to the promotion of financial inclusion in the country and moving towards its transition towards a society without cash.
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