QATAR is attracting Fintech companies from across the globe. Several Fintech companies have entered Qatar by registering with Qatar Financial Centre. The prospects for Islamic Fintech sector in Qatar are bright and the sector is set to witness robust growth in coming years. The Islamic Fintech market size in Qatar is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.6 percent to reach $2bn by 2025, according to report by the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021. Qatar has also ranked among top 10 countries in the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index. Fintech (or Financial Technology) is the term given to financial service firms whose product or service is built upon technology, often resulting in highly innovative, pioneering services. Qatar has made considerable progress towards developing a sustainable and globally competitive Fintech ecosystem in recent years, starting with the formation of the Qatar National Fintech Taskforce in 2017. The country’s National Fintech Strategy was announced in December 2019, which effectively commenced with the establishment of Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH) in April 2020. QFTH supports Fintech development efforts led by Qatar Central Bank (QCB) in addition to managing both incubator and accelerator programmes, which have received over 750 application from 73 countries in their first editions in 2020. QFTH has also partnered with several established Fintech hubs globally, facilitating the exchange of Fintech solutions and attracting international Fintechs from these hubs to operate in Qatar. QCB is also the central Fintech regulatory authority in the country. In 2019, the Central Bank established its Fintech Office responsible for facilitating and executing QCB’s Fintech objectives and began with issuing regulations on payments, the fastest growing segment in Fintech, with information security controls currently being drafted. QCB’s Regulatory Sandbox, planned to launch in 2021, will offer Fintechs a safe and controlled environment to test their technologies under relaxed regulations. Qatar Financial Centre, a partner in developing Qatar’s Fintech sector, has set a priority to attract Fintechs operating in digital payments, Islamic Fintech, RegTech, InsurTech, PropTech and SME enabling Fintech. It introduced the Fintech Services Provider License that classifies Fintechs under QFC’s platform as non-regulated Fintech Service Providers and, by the end of 2020, a total of 39 Fintechs have been registered with another 20 in the licensing pipeline. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry also issues licenses for nonregulated Fintechs, while those that handle client funds must be licensed by QCB
