Click To Pay: Unlocking Qatar's eCommercepotential through smarter, safer payments

Qatar Tribune

18-06-2025

As Qatar rapidly embraces digital transformation, eCommerce is emerging as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country. A new Visa report sheds light on how consumers are shopping online more frequently than ever—but also reveals that persistent friction at checkout continues to hinder growth. In this exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, Shashank Singh, Visa's Vice President and General Manager for Qatar and Kuwait, dives into the key findings from Visa's latest Checkout Friction Report. He discusses the surge in online shopping, the impact of innovations like biometric-enabled Click to Pay and why improving the online checkout experience is now critical for businesses—especially SMEs—looking to thrive in Qatar's evolving digital economy. Excerpts:
What's driving the strong growth of eCommerce in Qatar, even as some payment challengesremain?
The rise of eCommerce in Qatar is being fueled by consumers' increasing comfort with online platforms and a growing digital infrastructure. Visa's latest Checkout Friction Report shows that one in four respondents now shop online for groceries every day, and for categories like fashion, entertainment, and electronics, many shop at least oncea month.
However, while adoption is high, the online checkout experience remains a sticking point for many. Common frustrations, especially having to manually enter card details and concerns about payment security, continue to affect both satisfaction and conversion. Addressing these pain points presents a significant opportunity for retailers to boost loyalty and revenue.
The report shows many respondents would shop more with one click checkout and biometrics. Is Click to Pay the answer, and is it already available in Qatar?
Yes, Click to Pay is already live in Qatar. In fact, Qatar National Bank (QNB) was the first acquirer bank globally to launch Visa's Click to Pay with biometric authentication and Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) was the first issuer bank in both Qatar and the GCC to launch the service in partnership with Visa. This feature eliminates the need for consumers to repeatedly enter card and personal details, using biometric authentication on the shopper's device to speed up and secure the process.
The demand for this kind of innovation is strong. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they would likely use Click to Pay with Biometrics, and 80 percent said they would shop more frequently if a one-click checkout was available.
Security is a key concern for many shoppers especially when it comes to biometric data. How can merchants ensure security of such data?
Security is top of mind for Qatar's online shoppers, with 68 percent worried about fraud and 58 percent uneasy about storing card details across multiple sites. Concerns around biometric data are understandable and increasingly relevant.
Click to Pay addresses this by using Visa Payment Passkey, which authenticates users through their device's built-in biometrics like fingerprint or face ID. Crucially, this biometric data never leaves the user's device and isn't shared with merchants or payment networks, reducing the risk of misuse.
Tokenization adds another layer of protection by replacing card details with a secure, encrypted token, meaning actual card information is never exposed during transactions.
Merchants also play a critical role by following data security standards like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), ensuring secure storage, encryption, and access control.
Protecting sensitive data takes a layered approach – combining secure tech, industry compliance, and a strong culture of data responsibility across the payments ecosystem.
What should small businesses and eCommerce sites take away from this study? Can improved checkout experiences help attract more customers?
Absolutely. The findings of the Checkout Friction Report are clear. A smoother, more secure checkout process directly impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, sales. Small businesses and eCommerce sites should see this as a call to action. By embracing advanced solutions like Click to Pay, streamlining the payment journey, and prioritizing security, they not only improve conversion rates but also build long term trust with their customer base.
With digital transformation high on Qatar's national agenda, now is the perfect time for merchants, especially smaller players, to align with evolving consumer expectations and stand out in an increasingly competitive eCommerce landscape.