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Payments/QA/fawran

Fawran

Qatar's instant payment system is called Fawran (Arabic for "instantly"). The Qatar Central Bank launched it on 7 March 2024, and every major bank now offers it in its app. You register a mobile number or a nickname (alias) for your account, then send riyals to someone else's number, alias or IBAN. The money arrives in seconds, at any hour, and you see the recipient's name before you confirm. A transfer to another bank costs QAR 0.50 up to QAR 1,000. We found no source that calls the system "QIPS"; this page covers Fawran.
Country Qatar (QA)
What it is The Qatar Central Bank's 24/7 instant transfer service between bank accounts [1]
Banks First six: QNB, Commercial Bank, QIB, Ahli Bank, Dukhan Bank, Doha Bank [1]; QIIB and Masraf Al Rayan by Oct 2024 [4]
Since 7 March 2024
Cost Free within the same bank; QAR 0.50 (up to QAR 1,000) or QAR 2 (QAR 1,001–100,000) to another bank, at Ahli Bank and QIB [2] [9]
Typical limit QCB cap of QR 50,000 per transfer at launch [1]; banks now publish up to QAR 100,000
Reaches Bank accounts in Qatar, in riyals only [2]
Code on paper? No. Fawran pays a phone number, alias or IBAN; we found no Fawran QR code

How Fawran came to Qatar

  • 7 March 2024: launch. The QCB launched Fawran as part of its third financial sector strategy, with six banks first and others to follow. It runs around the clock in the banks' mobile apps and digital channels [1].
  • 3 October 2024: businesses. Companies can register with their Establishment ID, Commercial Registration or Commercial Licence and send and receive with those identifiers. Six banks offered it: QIIB, Commercial Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Doha Bank, Dukhan Bank and Ahli Bank [4].
  • 21 October 2024: online checkout. Fawran became a way to pay on QPay, the national e-commerce gateway, without a card. Doha Bank was the only participating bank at the start [3].

How many use it. Figures from the QCB:

Period Registered accounts Transactions Value
Launch to 30 Apr 2025 2.7M individual + 99,000 corporate over 5.5M in total over QR10.1bn in total [5]
June 2025 — 1.735M in the month QR2.752bn [6]
December 2025 3.614M 3.187M in the month QR5.092bn [7]
June 2026 3.884M 3.886M in the month QR6.745bn [6]

In December 2025 Fawran carried about a quarter of the value of all payments in the QCB's statistics, against 2% for the QMP mobile wallets [7].

How to use it

  1. Register in your bank's app. At QIB: Pay & Transfer → Fawran → Manage Aliases, pick the account, choose an alias and confirm with a one-time code [9]. At Ahli Bank you choose your registered mobile number or a nickname and the account to link [2].
  2. Aliases: at Ahli Bank a nickname is 3–20 letters and digits, starting with a letter [2]. At QIB each account has one alias, and only active riyal current or savings accounts can be linked [9].
  3. Send: enter the recipient's mobile number, alias or IBAN, check the name the app shows you, and confirm [1]. The money arrives within seconds [9].
  4. Request: choose Request to Pay, enter the payer's number, alias or IBAN and the amount. Once they approve, the money is in your account [2].
  5. Receive: share your number or alias; nothing else is needed.

You can suspend or delete your registered number or alias later, under Fawran → Manage at Ahli Bank [2].

Limits and fees

The QCB set a ceiling of QR 50,000 per transaction at launch, "subject to future review", and let banks set lower limits by customer profile [1]. The banks' pages in October 2026 show higher figures:

Ahli Bank QIB
Per transfer QAR 100,000 QAR 1 to 100,000 (its FAQ says QAR 1 to 10,000)
Per day QAR 400,000, 5 transfers not stated
Per month QAR 1,000,000, 30 transfers not stated
Same bank Free Free
Other bank, QAR 1–1,000 QAR 0.50 QAR 0.50
Other bank, QAR 1,001–100,000 QAR 2 QAR 2
Paying on QPay QAR 5,000 per payment, QAR 10,000 a day, QAR 30,000 a month —

Sources: Ahli Bank and QIB Fawran pages, read 19 Oct 2026 [2] [9]. QIB's own page gives two different maximums.

Limits change; check your bank's current terms.

Paying shops and businesses

  • Online: since 21 October 2024 you can pay at Qatari web shops on the QPay gateway with Fawran, using your mobile number or alias instead of a card. The merchant has to be registered for Fawran [3].
  • Business accounts: companies send and receive with their commercial identifiers since October 2024 [4]; about 99,000 corporate accounts were registered by April 2025 [5].
  • In shops: we found no Fawran payment at a shop terminal or by QR code. Shops are paid by card, or by a QMP wallet scanning the shop's QR code.

Paying across borders

Fawran is domestic: transfers are in riyals and within Qatar only [2]. We found no announced link between Fawran and another country's instant payment system. For money abroad, use your bank's international transfer.

Is there a Fawran QR code in Qatar?

We found none. The QCB's launch announcement and the banks' Fawran pages describe paying a mobile number, an alias or an IBAN, and paying online through QPay, with no QR code [1] [2] [9]. See the Fawran standard page.

The QR codes you see in Qatari shops belong to the mobile wallets: they follow the QCB's unified QR specifications and are paid from QMP wallets (see QCB QR). An invoice from a Qatari company is paid by transfer to its QA IBAN (QA report), which you can now send instantly over Fawran.

Safety: transfers you can't take back

A confirmed Fawran transfer is final: QIB says you can't cancel one once you have sent it [9]. Disputes go through your own bank's channels [1]. So fraud usually starts by getting you to send. The QCB warned in December 2024 that banks in Qatar never send links in text messages; if one asks for your details, contact your bank [8].

  • Read the name the app shows before you confirm. If it isn't who you expect, stop.
  • Don't click links in texts that claim to be from your bank, and never give anyone a one-time code.
  • Check a payment request before approving it: approving sends your money out.

Fawran and the alternatives in Qatar

Way to pay Best for Notes
Fawran Paying people and businesses instantly from your bank account QAR 0.50–2 to another bank; QR6.745bn in June 2026 [6]
QMP wallet Small transfers, scanning a shop's QR code Works for visitors too, with one wallet
Card Shops, restaurants, most online shops About half of all payment value in Dec 2025 [7]
Ordinary bank transfer Large amounts above your Fawran limit To a QA IBAN (QA report)

Sources

  1. Qatar News Agency, "QCB Launches 'FAWRAN' Instant Payment Service", 7 Mar 2024. https://www.qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2024-03/07/0036-qcb-launches-'fawran'-instant-payment-service
  2. Ahli Bank, "Fawran instant payment", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.ahlibank.com.qa/en/fawran-instant-payment
  3. Gulf Times, "QCB 'Fawran' payment service now through QPay", 21 Oct 2024. https://gulf-times.com/article/693005/business/qcb-fawran-payment-service-now-through-qpay
  4. The Peninsula, "QCB launches 'Fawran' service for corporates", 3 Oct 2024. https://s.thepeninsula.qa/article/03/10/2024/qcb-launches-fawran-service-for-corporates
  5. The Peninsula, "Fawran facilitates over 5mn transactions worth QR10bn since launch", 30 Apr 2025. https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/30/04/2025/fawran-facilitates-over-5mn-transactions-worth-qr10bn-since-launch
  6. Gulf Times, "Fawran transactions value jumps 145% to QR6.745bn in June: QCB", 25 Jul 2026. https://www.gulf-times.com/article/729909/business/fawran-transactions-value-jumps-145-to-qr6745bn-in-june-qcb
  7. The Peninsula, "POS, e-commerce transactions hit QR14.667bn in Dec 2025", 1 Feb 2026. https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/01/02/2026/pos-e-commerce-transactions-hit-qr14667bn-in-dec-2025
  8. Lexis Middle East, "Qatar: Warning From QCB", 13 Dec 2024. https://www.lexis.ae/2024/12/13/qtr-warning-from-qcb/
  9. QIB, "Fawran", read 19 Oct 2026. https://qib.com.qa/en/personal/ways-to-bank/services/transfer-services/fawran

Researched 19 October 2026. Limits and bank offerings change; the banks' own pages are authoritative.

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