HSBC Qatar has announced the launch of mobile payments for both its retail and business customers as the bank looks to push on its digitalization efforts as per the government policy,
We have been seeing over the last couple of years, some massive effort from major banks to convert their legacy systems to digital systems so that they can stay abreast of the times and also stay relevant so that they don’t get swamped by the multitude of startups in the digital financial services space during this period. It is very clear that the users around the world are tired of the legacy systems and prefer the speed and the reliability of the digital banking systems and realizing this, we have been seeing a lot of new entrants into the banking industry. It is also clear that we are approaching a future where bank branches may not even exist or they may be very few and far between as everything goes digital and online.
“HSBC aims to be the bank in your pocket, and with the introduction of mobile payments and collections on our digital banking channels, we are another step closer to making banking services faster, easier, and more secure,” said Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO of HSBC in Qatar. “Our digital strategy is all about improving customer experiences to suit our customers’ increasingly digital lives. The Qatar Central Bank is at the forefront of continuous investment in innovative digital banking services and an enabler of progressive change.”
The new payments system will help the users to make real-time payments of bills and also transfer money to other users as well. The merchants will also have similar features along with the capability to watch all their deposits/withdrawals/transactions at the click of a button. Payments can also be made for purchases through digital wallets instead of using cash or cards.
The Middle-East region has been lagging behind the rest of the developed world like Europe and the US but during this year, we are seeing them catch up with them as more developments take place and the regulations also ease up for foreign entrants. This creates a bigger playing field for everyone and also spurs the development of new features and innovation in the future, the sprouts of which we are seeing now.
