DOHA: The volume of e-commerce transactions reached 6.98 million in August 2024 with a value of QR3.4bn showing a year-on-year surge in value of online transactions by 6.5 percent and 28 percent compared to August 2023 and 2022 respectively.

The volume of e-commerce transactions in Qatar reached 5.46 million and 4.51 million in August 2023 and 2022 respectively. Meanwhile the point of sale (POS) transactions in the country also witnessed impressive growth in August this year, data from Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has revealed.

The e-commerce adoption is growing as more consumers expect delivery of products and services to be digital, seamless, and timely. Businesses are racing to compete and join the e-commerce trend. In Qatar, the e-commerce market is showing healthy growth over the coming years, especially in the services sector.

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.

Revealing the details of the total count of active cards in Qatar in August this year, the data showed the number of active debit cards totalled 2,324,940. While the credit cards and prepaid cards totalled 731,514 and 712,870 respectively in August 2024.

The POS transactions were valued at QR6.94bn in August 2024 compared to QR6.74bn in the same month of 2023 and QR6.19bn in August 2022 showing a surge of 7.8 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.

The volume of point of sale transactions stood at 32.24 million in August this year, while it was 27.70 million in the same month last year and 24.022 million in August 2022 showing an increase of 16.3 percent and 34.22 percent respectively.

The number of point of sale devices in Qatar totalled 74,621 in August this year compared with 68,898 in the same month in 2023 and 53,241 in August 2022.

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 Third Qatar National Development Strategy (NDS3) is a catalyst to realising sustainable growth, economic diversification, and social development for the next phase of Qatar’s development from 2024-2030.

NDS3 demonstrates how fundamental widespread digital transformation is for economic success. This is made evident by the key strategic national outcomes in the NDS3, each requiring digital enablement.

The drive for increased e-commerce adoption contributes to economic development, providing a viable new bridge to consumers to improve business efficiency, expand trade and investment opportunities, and foster innovation, diversity and competitiveness.

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.

QCB also launched the innovative instant payment service Fawran which aims to develop a digital payment ecosystem in the country.

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