(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Cost efficiency and other technological advancements are expected to drive growth in the use of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices among merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Qatar, Visa country manager Rahul Joshi told Gulf Times.
He said Qatar continues to witness a major shift from traditional to electronic payments, indicated by the 22% rise over the previous year in POS transaction value for the period ending September 30, 2014.
According to Joshi, merchants find traditional POS setups cumbersome compared to transactions made via mPOS.
"Aside from mobility, the other advantages of mPOS is that the cost of smartphones are getting lower, there are no landline costs, and there are no hassles caused by power outages, especially in developing countries," said Joshi during a media roundtable discussion yesterday.
He noted that mPOS eliminates transaction hassles, especially in businesses that require customers to pay in cash such as taxis, home delivery (food, grocery, laundry, etc.), courier services, and petrol stations, among others.
"Merchants who do not see any value from the traditional setup will find mPOS more attractive not from a mobility point of view but because of low cost.
Cost is not a barrier and it is even commercially viable for banks to put up mPOS machines even when volume is less making it beneficial to new startups," Joshi stressed.
Joshi also said Qatar's payment industry has a high potential for growth as government services, retail, and supermarkets registered as the top categories for domestic spend.
Using data from VisaNet recorded in the third quarter of 2014, Joshi said debit cards accounted for about three-fourths of all Visa cards in circulation in Qatar, indicating that the credit card business in the country "still holds untapped potential."
"In addition, one out of every three dollars spent on a Visa credit card issued in Qatar is spent internationally, a sign of the growing share of travel expenses, cross-border purchases, and e-Commerce volumes," he said.
According to VisaNet data, cardholder spending in Qatar was mainly directed towards government services, retail, and supermarkets.
Retail also emerged as a top category in international spending on Visa cards by Qatar residents, accompanied by hotel accommodation.
"Visa card usage in Qatar is growing at a consistent, promising pace, although cardholders in this market are still largely skewed towards our debit products. With international spending on the rise, and a promising outlook for e-Commerce in the region, we expect Qatar to register strong growth in credit card acceptance and use in the coming years," Joshi said.
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