Doha: QNB, the largest financial institution in Middle East and Africa, has witnessed high adoption of its digital channels by the customers helped by bank’s focus on digital innovation and customer-centric approach. Over 93 percent of QNB’s customers in Qatar are using its digital channels.
“This year, our focus in Qatar was on enhancing our omnichannel distribution mix, boosting self-service capacity, reducing the load on our physical network and upgrading the Bank’s ecosystem. As a result, more than 93 percent of our customers in Qatar use our digital channels,” noted QNB’s ‘Annual Report 2021’.
QNB witnessed powerful momentum in the cards market across 2021. This was driven by a surge in card acceptance, a substantial increase in e-commerce activity - including the successful launch of Apple Pay in Qatar - and the success of its digital enhancements and partnerships.
“The market was also buoyed by the gradual lifting of travel restrictions, increased domestic consumption, and improved consumer confidence. As a result, we saw a surge in growth in the cards business,” noted the report.
Credit card issuance increased by 37.5 percent, while the uptake in prepaid cards rose by 60 percent. Debit cards were up by 16 percent, and the number of commercial cards soared by 89 percent. The ongoing transition from cash to card also helped fuel a 35 percent increase in debit card transaction volume, while cash usage grew by only 4 percent.
Last year the bank launched QNBpay, a mobile banking service that enabled customers to make secure, mobile contactless payments.
“Every one of the new cards we issue is enabled for contactless payment, and the number of contactless transactions continues to rise, with a growth of 37 percent in contactless transactions, compared to 19 percent last year,” noted the Annual Report
QNB led the market in launching the safest and most convenient payment form factors, including Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, and Apple Pay. Since its launch in August, the total number of Apple Pay transactions has exceeded 2.2 million with a total volume of over QR548m, clearly demonstrating strong customer adoption to new forms of digital payments.
