Point of sale (POS) transactions in Qatar have scaled up to QR7.1bn in July compared to QR6.48bn in the same period last year, Qatar Central Bank (QCB) said on sunday.

The value of POS transactions in July 2023 stood at QR6.48bn and QR5.55bn in July 2022, QCB said in a posting on ‘X’.

A point of sale transaction is a payment for goods or services, usually made in a retail setting. POS transactions can be conducted in person or online and are typically completed using credit or debit cards.

The total number of POS transactions in Qatar stood at 32.45mn in July this year, QCB said.

It was 27.21mn in July last year and 21.45mn in July 2022, the central bank noted.

The total number of POS devices in Qatar stood at 74,092 in July this year. In July 2023, the number of POS devices in Qatar totalled 69,040 and in July 2022, it was 52,421.

According to QCB, e-commerce transactions totalled QR3.63bn in July this year compared to QR2.85bn in July last year and QR2.59bn in July 2022.

The volume of e-commerce transactions totalled 6.83mn in July this year compared to 5.05mn in July 2023 and 3.93mn in July 2022.

QCB data indicated that debit cards issued by local banks outnumbered credit cards in the country.

The total number of active (debit) cards in Qatar in July stood at 2.3mn (2,308,809), credit cards (726,744) and pre-paid cards (709,439).

QCB introduced the National Network System for ATMs and Points of Sale (NAPS), which is the Central payment system, in 1996 to facilitate the acceptance of cards transactions (debit cards and prepaid) on ATM, POS and E-Commerce terminals throughout the GCC region and Egypt.

Additionally, the system accept cards issued by QCB, GCC and Egypt regulated banks.

According to QCB, NAPS is one of the first switches in the region to achieve full (EMV) compliance both as an acquirer and issuer.

The system was upgraded in 2023 in line with the latest global standards in cards industry.

It is a round-the-clock service, which supports card tokenisation and card-less payments.

All banks in Qatar are members of the National Network System for ATMs and Points of Sale.