Qatar PoS transactions total QR6.94bn; e-commerce at QR3.4bn in August, says QCB

Point of sale transactions (PoS) were valued at QR6.94bn in Qatar in August, according to the Qatar Central Bank (QCB).In August last year, the PoS valuations stood at QR6.74bn. And in August 2022, these totalled QR6.19bn.The total number of PoS transactions in Qatar stood at 32.24mn in August compared with 27.7mn in the same period last year and 24.02mn in August 2022.QCB data showed that there were 74,621 PoS devices in Qatar (as of August this year) compared with 68,898 in August last year and 53,241 in the same period in 2022.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.According to the QCB, debit cards far outnumbered credit cards in the country.As of August this year, the number of debit cards in Qatar exceeded 2.32mn while credit cards stood at 731,514 and pre-paid cards at 712,870.E-commerce transactions in Qatar totalled QR3.4bn in August this year compared to QR3.19bn in August 2023 and QR2.65bn in August 2022.The volume of e-commerce transactions in the country exceeded 6.98mn in August this year compared with 5.46mn in August last year and 4.51mn in August 2022.The 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 accepts cards issued by the QCB, GCC and Egypt regulated banks.According to the 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.