Qatar’s Payment Transactions Rise 28 Percent to 76.2 Million in August, Worth 98 Billion Riyals
Payment transactions in Qatar rose 28 percent year on year to 76.2 million in August, with a total value of 97.967 billion riyals, up 1 percent, according to Qatar Central Bank’s payment system statistics. On our calculation, that is about 2.5 million transactions and about 3.2 billion riyals a day.
Instant and Mobile Payments Surge
The Instant Payment System handled 6.924 billion riyals in August, up 105 percent from 3.382 billion riyals, across 4.039 million transactions, up 102 percent. Its share of total payment value rose to about 7.1 percent from about 3.5 percent on our calculation. Qatar Mobile Payment value rose 55 percent to 432.6 million riyals, and its transactions rose 174 percent to 915,739, on our reading of the published totals. Registered wallets reached 1.495 million and registered accounts 3.973 million.
Value of payments in Qatar, August
| System | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All payments | QAR 97.459bn | QAR 97.967bn | +1% |
| Tahweel bank transfers | QAR 71.797bn | QAR 68.029bn | -5% |
| Cards | QAR 22.002bn | QAR 22.582bn | +3% |
| Instant Payment System | QAR 3.382bn | QAR 6.924bn | +105% |
| Qatar Mobile Payment | QAR 278.3m | QAR 432.6m | +55% |
Changes as published; the all payments change is 0.5 percent on our calculation before rounding. The August 2025 card value is our sum of the published channel figures. Values rounded.
Cards Carry the Volume, Transfers the Value
Card transactions rose 21 percent to 67.353 million, worth 22.582 billion riyals, up 3 percent. The card figures include point of sale, online and ATM transactions, so the average of about 335 riyals per card transaction, against about 396 riyals a year earlier on our calculation, is not an average purchase. Cards made up 88.4 percent of all transactions and 23.1 percent of their value.
Tahweel, the system for transfers between bank accounts, carried 68.029 billion riyals, about 69 percent of all payment value on our calculation, against 71.797 billion riyals a year earlier. The number of transfers rose 111 percent to 3.924 million, so the average transfer was about 17,300 riyals, against about 38,600 riyals, on our calculation.
Number of transactions in Qatar, August
| System | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All payments | 59.690m | 76.232m | +28% |
| Cards | 55.499m | 67.353m | +21% |
| Instant Payment System | 1.999m | 4.039m | +102% |
| Tahweel bank transfers | 1.860m | 3.924m | +111% |
| Qatar Mobile Payment | 333,702 | 915,739 | +174% |
Qatar Central Bank. The August 2025 card figures are our sum of the published channel figures. Qatar Mobile Payment counts are labelled in thousands in the source; on our reading of the published totals they are single transactions.
Why it matters: Transaction numbers growing 28 percent in a year, with instant payments doubling and mobile payment transactions up 174 percent, show how quickly Qatar is moving everyday payments onto fast digital rails.
Outlook: The September statistics will show whether instant and mobile payments keep growing at this pace into the final quarter.
Sources: Qatar Central Bank, The Edge.
