DOHA
Several countries are attempting to become leading regional and global Islamic finance hubs as Islamic finance is considered to be one of the fastest growing sectors. Qatar is rapidly developing its Islamic finance industry and is poised to become a leading hub for the sector Within the Islamic finance, the Islamic banking sector is playing an important role in making Qatar a leading interconnected Islamic finance hub. “The Islamic banks are taking all measures to attract customers and increase their market share. Showing agility and flexibility, they have launched many customer-centric products and services. They are also swift in adopting new technology which not only saves time of customers but also reduce operation cost,” a senior official of an Islamic bank told The Peninsula. Qatari Islamic banks have launched their own digital solutions, which is helping Qatar in its quest to become an Islamic fintech hub. Qatar Islamic Bank, for example, has launched a digital onboarding service for prospective clients, who can now easily open accounts through the bank’s app without having to visit the physical bank. The app also allows clients to raise preapproved finance. Barwa Bank is also targeting full digital transformation, introducing its own digital application and plans to launch a point-of-sale (PoS) product. There are 13 conventional banks and four full-fledged Islamic Banks. A merger was announced in 2018 between two Qatari banks- Barwa Bank and the conventional International Bank of Qatar (IBQ). The operational consolidation of the two banks was finalised in April 2019, operating under the name Barwa Bank, making it the third largest bank in Qatar. With combined total assets of $22bn, it is intended to boost operational scale and combine the banks’ strengths in terms of retail, corporate and private banking services, along with wealth and asset management. The launch of a fifth Islamic bank- Energy Bank- was announced in 2019,.—The Peninsula
