It’s been more than six months since QNB group brought Apple Pay to Qatar. The catch? It was only available to merchants for accepting payments.
Fast forward to the present, individual customers can now sign up to use Apple Pay. The first requirement is you’ve got to have a bank account either with QNB or Dukhan Bank.
Just make sure you have the prerequisite device(s) to start using it. Make sure it’s running the latest OS.
- iPhone 6 or newer,
- iPad Air 2 or newer,
- and any supported Apple Watch
Both banks have instructions you need to follow, requiring you to use their respective mobile app for the initial authentication. The one main distinction between both banks – you can only add QNB’s credit cards, while Dukhan Bank allows you add both debit and credit cards. You can click on the respective bank’s link:
Once you’re up and running, then it’s a matter of using either Apple device at merchants that accept Apple Pay. Bear in mind that the central bank has put limits on per transaction basis. If you have SMS notifications setup, you’ll be notified just like when you use your debit/credit card.
While it’s been years since its launch, Qatar now joins UAE and Saudi Arabia as the third country in the Middle East with the consumer availability of Apple Pay.
Image credit: Twitter accounts of QNB and Dukhan Bank