The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) collaborated with Qatar National Bank (QNB) to launch the first phase of the Unified E-Payment Gateway Project. This project aims to enable legal and natural persons to pay fees for e-services provided by government entities in Qatar. Through this collaboration, MCIT and QNB aim to, among other things, simplify and enhance the user payment experience and reduce the government’s operational expenses by introducing a unified e-payment gateway.
The second phase of the project is expected to launch by the end of Q1 2024. Adel Al Malki, the senior executive vice-president of QNB Retail Banking Group, commented on this milestone stating that: “We are pleased to have this partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, which comes to consolidate our journey of digital transformation and sustainability.”
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Edaa (previously known as the Qatar Central Securities Depository) signed an agreement at the end of January 2024 to manage the distribution of dividends to shareholders of publicly listed companies in Qatar.
Under this agreement, QIB will integrate its dividend payment distribution system with Edaa’s dividend distribution platform, and Edaa will be responsible for distributing the dividends on behalf of listed companies.
Through this system, dividend files will be uploaded and real-time updates on paid and unpaid dividends will be provided to facilitate the payment process. Sheikh Saif Abdullah Al Thani, CEO of Edaa, noted that: “This partnership reflects our dedication to expediting processes, ensuring accuracy and distributing dividends in a timely manner.”
Islamic banks in Qatar have recently disclosed their end-of-year financial results. QIIB reported an 8.3% jump in net profit to QAR1.17 billion (US$320.91 million) in 2023. Masraf Al Rayan also reported a +8% year-on-year jump in net profit to QAR1.45 billion (US$397.71 million) in 2023.
In addition, Dukhan Bank announced its highest-ever net profit of QAR1.3 billion (US$356.57 million), an increase of 4% compared with 2022. It is hoped that the results of the banks for 2023 will encourage the banking sector to continue to grow.
Amjad Hussain is a partner at K&L Gates. He can be contacted at [email protected].