Omar Mahmood, Head of Financial Services at KPMG in the Middle East & South Asia and Partner at KPMG in Qatar
Several banks in Qatar are currently in discussions and are likely to launch Apple Pay as part of their services soon, following the recent launch of the Qatar National Bank (QNB) and Dukhan Bank and amid growing demand for the popular mobile payment and digital wallet service among banking customers in the country, an industry expert has said.
Speaking to The Peninsula in an interview yesterday, Omar Mahmood, Head of Financial Services at KPMG in the Middle East & South Asia and Partner at KPMG in Qatar, said that Apple Pay, which has already been in more advanced and developed markets for quite a while, is expected to be launched by the other banks in Qatar soon.
“We already see banks are looking at automation in all aspects of their business. And it’s not just Apple Pay. Several banks have also already introduced Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay to their digital platforms. So what they’re looking to do is basically track the next generation of customers, through technology, and making it easier for them to facilitate non-cash transactions. QNB and Dukhan Bank have already got Apple Pay. But speaking to other banks, I think it should be imminent with them also getting it.
“And it will be just the first wave in. What we expect to see going forward, is making it easier for the customer to facilitate their banking for automated digital channels. I think Apple Pay is one means, but going forward I think we’ll see a lot more banks in Qatar adopt wider digital channels,” Mahmood added.
Citing an industry source, Mahmood said that the other banks which are also expected to launch Apple Pay are currently in the middle of having their systems ready. According to the industry source, he expects all the banks’ systems ready by November, and will most likely be able to launch Apple Pay in their services by December, said Mahmood.
Mahmood, who leads the financial services for the global advisory firm’s Middle East and South Asia office, added that KPMG will also launch its annual report on ‘Qatar Banking Perspective 2021’ soon. The report will feature interviews with industry leaders including Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Governor H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani and other Bank CEOs in Qatar.
“There we cover a number of themes, including the main themes around technology, innovation, and sustainability. In the report, the QCB Governor also expressed his views on digital currency. And his view was very clear.
While digital currency is being studied, it’s not the priority at the moment, but operating digitally is. And as he sees it, close to 90 percent of the broad money in the system is already in digital form as deposits with commercial banks,” Mahmood said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar’s banking sector continued to innovate. Mahmood added that the country’s regulatory authorities have also evolved and adapted over the last 18 months through their supervisory roles.
He went on to reiterate that Qatar has also made huge progress on a number of regulatory processes such as anti-money laundering (AML) and ‘know your customer’ (KYC) procedures.
He added that going forward, he expects to see more consolidation between players in Qatar’s banking sector and new technologies such as regtech to emerge aside from fintechs in the payments sector. He added that open banking was also the future in the industry.
“Going forward, the QCB will probably have to explore open banking. It is the way forward. Also, past pre-pandemic, consolidation was the key. And we saw that through previous mergers and acquisitions and Dukhan Bank was formed. Consolidation is not over. I think there’s a need for more and there could be more. That trend will still continue possibly. And it’s consolidation not only through mergers, but consolidating in terms of becoming lean and efficient,” added Mahmood.
Speaking about Fintech companies in the Qatari market, Mahmood said: “We see a lot of the Fintechs at the moment, which are emerging through the Qatar Fintech Hub. Going forward, we might see the QCB starting to license and approve Fintech players. At the moment, focus has been on payment side, because that was the need of the hour. Going forward, there will be a lot more Fintech coming in the other areas, whether AML, customer experience, KYC, regtech, and others”.
