Standards/qmp-qr
QMP QR
Overview
QMP (Qatar Mobile Payment) is Qatar's national interoperable mobile-payment system, launched May 2023 by Qatar Central Bank (QCB) as Qatar's first instant national interoperable switch for mobile payment services [1, 2, [qa-cro]]. QMP connects all licensed mobile-payment-service providers in Qatar + facilitates point-of-sale payments through a standardized QR-code system. The structural distinction: QMP is the QR-payment switch layer complementing FAWRAN (Qatar's instant-payment service, launched March 2024) + QPAY (Qatar's national e-commerce payment gateway) — together forming Qatar's comprehensive QCB-coordinated digital-payment infrastructure trio.
The structural significance: QCB's three-product digital-payment-modernisation strategy (QMP + FAWRAN + QPAY) represents one of the most coordinated MENA central-bank payment-system rollouts. April 2025: QCB launches direct integration for fintechs with NAPS, QPay — extending payment-ecosystem access beyond traditional banking-only participants. October 2024: Qatar Central Bank launches Instant Payment Service through National e-Commerce Gateway (QPay) — bringing FAWRAN's instant capability into e-commerce. The QMP unified-QR specification + FAWRAN instant rail + QPAY e-commerce gateway together comprehensively cover Qatar's digital-payment ecosystem.
History
Background — Qatari payment landscape QA:
- Qatar Central Bank (QCB) — central bank.
- Multiple Qatari commercial banks: QNB (largest), Doha Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, others.
- Strong digital-payment-modernisation push under Qatar National Vision 2030.
12 May 2023 — QMP launches [2]:
- QCB rolls out interoperable national mobile-payments system.
- First instant national mobile-payment switch in Qatar.
- Standardised QR-code system.
7 March 2024 — FAWRAN instant payment launches [3]:
- Companion instant-payment service.
- 24/7 instant transfers.
October 2024 — Fawran via QPay e-commerce gateway [4]:
- Instant payment + e-commerce integration.
14 April 2025 — Direct integration for fintechs with NAPS, QPay [5]:
- Fintech access expansion.
Technical specification
QMP QR is QCB-operated national interoperable mobile-payment switch with standardized QR [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | Qatar Central Bank (QCB) |
| Launch | 12 May 2023 |
| Function | Interoperable mobile-payment switch + QR-code system |
| Currency | QAR (Qatari riyal) |
| Participants | All licensed Qatari mobile-payment service providers |
| Companion products | FAWRAN (instant payment, Mar 2024) + QPAY (e-commerce gateway) |
| QR-code standard | Standardised across participating PSPs |
Three-product QCB digital-payment trio QA:
- QMP (mobile-payment switch + QR, May 2023).
- FAWRAN (instant payment, March 2024).
- QPAY (e-commerce gateway, since earlier).
Naming overlap note: QMP (Qatar Mobile Payment) vs qpay Mongolia — different products, similar-looking names.
Use cases
POS QR payments [2]: Cardinal use — standardized QR across participating mobile-payment providers.
Cross-PSP interoperability [2]: Any licensed Qatari mobile-payment user can pay any participating merchant.
Fintech direct integration (Apr 2025+) [5]: Beyond bank-only participation.
E-commerce via QPay [4]: Integrated with QCB's QPay e-commerce gateway.
Instant via FAWRAN [3]: Real-time instant capability.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: Qatar Central Bank (QCB).
Participants: All licensed Qatari mobile-payment service providers.
Companion products: FAWRAN, QPAY, NAPS (national e-commerce gateway).
Major Qatari banks: QNB, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, QIB (Islamic), Masraf Al Rayan, others.
Fun facts
- First instant national mobile-payment switch in Qatar (May 2023): Pioneering Qatari payment-modernisation.
- Three-product digital-payment-modernisation trio: QMP + FAWRAN + QPAY — comprehensive.
- Naming overlap with Mongolia qpay: Easy to confuse QMP (Qatar) with QPay (Mongolia).
- Qatar National Vision 2030 context: Digital-payment infrastructure within broader national strategy.
- April 2025 fintech direct-integration: NAPS + QPay opening to non-bank fintechs.
- 2022 FIFA World Cup context: Qatar's payment-modernisation accelerated by World Cup hosting requirements.
- Standardised QR across all PSPs: Unification design from launch.
Comparison
| Feature | QMP (QA) | fawri-plus (BH) | cliq-qr (JO) | aani (UAE) | mada (SA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | QCB | BENEFIT (bank consortium) | JoPACC (public-private) | Al Etihad Payments (CBUAE) | Saudi Payments (SAMA) |
| Launch | May 2023 | Nov 2015 | Jun 2020 | Oct 2023 | 1990 (2022 Mada Pay) |
| Type | Interoperable QR switch | Near-real-time EFT | Instant payment + QR | Instant payment | National card scheme |
| Companion products | FAWRAN + QPAY | BenefitPay | n/a | Banking-wide | Mada Pay |
Status
Active, foundational Qatari digital-payment infrastructure [1, 2]:
- QCB operator since 12 May 2023.
- Standardised national QR.
- All licensed Qatari PSPs.
- Companion: FAWRAN (Mar 2024) + QPAY.
- Fintech direct integration since April 2025.
Sources
- 1 QMP — QCB
- 2 QCB rolls out QMP — NFC World
- 3 QCB launches FAWRAN
- [qa-cro]
reports/countries/QA-qatar.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- QA — QA-qatar.md