Digital payments remain Qatar’s largest fintech segment, with total transactions projected to reach QR181bn by 2028, the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar) stated in a report.
E-commerce payments serve as the primary growth driver at a 16% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). In contrast, point-of-sale (POS) transactions expand steadily at a 5% CAGR, according to the ‘Qatar’s FinTech Landscape’ report prepared by Invest Qatar, in collaboration with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).
Data in the report showed that total digital payment volumes are expected to rise from QR130bn in 2024 to QR140bn in 2025, QR153bn in 2026, and QR166bn in 2027 before hitting QR181bn in 2028.
Within this total, e-commerce transactions are forecast to grow from QR91bn in 2024 to QR110bn in 2028, while POS volumes increase from QR39bn to QR71bn over the same period.
Digital wallet transactions are also forecast to grow rapidly, reaching QR65bn by 2028 and accounting for roughly 34% of all digital payments, with e-commerce and POS wallet payments expanding at 26% and 21% CAGR, respectively.
Meanwhile, buy now, pay later (BNPL) e-commerce transactions are projected to grow at a 16% CAGR to reach around QR1.42bn by 2028, capturing nearly 5% of e-commerce payments as existing players operate under the regulatory sandbox.
The report stated that insurtech remains a smaller segment, with gross written premiums expected to reach about QR25mn by 2028, representing 0.3% of total premiums across conventional and takaful offerings.
Beyond transaction volumes, the report noted that fintech strengthened its position as Qatar’s most active venture sector in 2025, recording 11 deals and accounting for 33% of total venture activity, up from 24% in 2024.
Sector funding climbed 50% year-on-year to reach QR68mn in 2025, supported by notable deals, such as PayLater’s QR36mn funding round, placing fintech second only to transport and logistics at QR80mn, the report further stated.
According to the report, Qatar is accelerating its fintech ecosystem under the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third Financial Sector Strategy, transitioning from an emerging market into a structured innovation hub.
Ecosystem enablers including Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) have invested over QR70mn ($19mn) in pre-seed fintech startups and helped create more than 450 jobs through startup enablement, the report stated.
The report stated that more than 100 fintech startups from over 30 countries have graduated from QFTH programmes, while over 230 fintechs are registered within the QFC and 16 regulatory licensed fintechs operate across payments, wallets, lending, insurtech, and tokenisation.
Furthermore, QFTH has localised more than 55 startups in partnership with the QFC and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the report also noted.
According to the report, coordinated national frameworks continue to underpin this expansion, including the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Strategy 2024-2030, which eases market entry processes to increase the number of licensed fintech firms.
The National Fintech Strategy, launched by QCB in 2023, outlines 29 initiatives over five years across foundational infrastructure, growth areas, talent development, and financial inclusion.
Alongside the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan, which introduces a Fintech Talent Centre of Excellence, the Third National Development Strategy targets the launch of 35 fintech startups and an insurtech hub by 2030, the report added.