Qatar Central Bank Governor: Financial technology is building momentum in Qatar

At Carnegie Mellon Qatar lecture, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani stresses need for cooperation between banks and tech startups

DOHA, QATAR – During a lecture hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB), discussed the importance of financial technology, or fintech, to QCB’s new strategy.

Fintech can help achieve QCB’s goals set up in the financial sector strategy, Al Thani said, noting that global investment in fintech increased by 66 percent between 2010 and 2015. He stated that there is momentum building in Qatar, with opportunity in the areas of digital payments, money management, lending, loyalty and rewards, remittances, and investments and advisory.

“For all of these fintech opportunities, we have to measure the impact financially and strategically, as well as how it relates to the customer, to assess whether we should pursue each opportunity,” Al Thani said.

Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, commented that “Sheikh Abdulla raised an important concept of teamwork as Qatar and the world embrace fintech as a way of doing business. Computer scientists, finance experts, and industry and government leaders all have a role to play, and it is inspiring to our students to imagine how they can contribute.”

An ideal fintech ecosystem features available talent, well informed investors, and a regulatory environment that is both open and stable. In order to create such an environment in Qatar, Al Thani stated that banks and regulators  have to collaborate with fintech firms to provide the best possible customer service.

The lecture was part of the Dean’s Lecture Series at CMU-Q, which is a forum for leaders in government and industry to discuss important and topical issues. CMU-Q offers undergraduate programs in business administration, computer science, and information systems, three fields that are instrumental in developing new financial technologies. CMU-Q also offers programs in biological sciences and computational biology.

“Cooperation is the way forward, and QCB is in the collaboration stage. We are looking to partner with startups to combine the best of both worlds, combining our regulatory know-how and customer reach with their innovation and agility,” Al Thani said.

Dean Michael Trick and His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani