The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) working actively to develop Qatar as hub of financial technology (FinTech), noted a senior official of QFC, one of the world’s leading and fastest growing onshore business and financial centres at an event.
As part of the efforts, QFC is working in close cooperation with major stakeholders, and recently joined hands with Europe’s leading Fintech platform B-Hive, which will help facilitate co-operation on several aspects based on the promotion of business opportunities and knowledge sharing.
This was reaffirmed by QFC as it took part in a ‘FinTech/Blockchain’ panel discussion at the 5th Annual Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector.
Henk J Hoogendoorn (pcitured), Managing Director, Financial Sector Office, QFC discussed the growth of FinTech during a panel that brought together speakers who included Simon Ingham, SVP Enterprise Solutions, KYC Global; Dr Jaouad Al Khaliki, Founder, 30Tech; Nabil Ben Aissa, CEO QPAY and Bora Goknar, International Sales Manager, Cardtek.
During the session, the panelists debated trends, insights and approaches to the adoption of FinTech by the financial industry, how regulators can use FinTech effectively and the lessons learned and best practices from other regions that have made significant advancements through the use of the technology.
Hoogendoorn said: “The QFC is already actively contributing to the national FinTech plan and will be a platform for international FinTech companies that want to be active in Qatar or nearby remittance markets. As part of our commitment to developing a FinTech hub, the QFC recently signed an MoU with Europe’s leading Fintech platform B-Hive, which will help facilitate co-operation on several aspects based on the promotion of business opportunities and knowledge sharing.”
Hoogendoorn added: “We are witnessing a steady uptake of FinTech businesses in the Middle East, with the number of FinTech startups soaring to 105, from 46 between 2013 and 2015. The adoption of FinTech within Qatar’s financial sector will provide plenty of opportunities in areas such as Financial Inclusion. Additionally, about eighty per cent of FinTech is non-regulated so we can start working on important themes such as cyber security, data analytics, digital access and a cashless FIFA 2022.”
The QFC is an onshore jurisdiction, allowing companies to operate in and from Qatar within the QFC legal and tax environment. The QFC endeavours to promote Qatar as an attractive business destination. Companies that wish to establish a business in the QFC are guided throughout by a dedicated QFC relationship manager who assists in the process of obtaining a licence and offers support in matters related to operating a business in Qatar.
