Qatar Central Bank
Central bank of Qatar. It issues the Qatari riyal, regulates banks, insurers and other financial institutions, and operates under Law No. 13 of 2012.
Industry: Central banking | Location: Doha, Qatar | Founded: 1993
About Qatar Central Bank
Qatar Central Bank, known as QCB, is the central bank of the State of Qatar and is based in Doha. It issues the Qatari riyal and regulates the country's banks. Its regulatory scope covers banks, insurance companies, exchange houses, Qatar Exchange and entities registered with the Qatar Financial Centre.
Wikipedia traces the institution to the Qatar Monetary Agency, founded on 13 May 1973, and says it took the name Qatar Central Bank in 1993. Oxford Business Group dates the establishment of QCB to 1993 under Amiri Decree No. 15.
Law No. 13 of 2012, issued in December 2012 with 238 articles, regulates the bank. It makes QCB an autonomous corporate body with its own budget under the direct control of the Emir, with capital of QR50 billion owned by the government. Its primary goals are financial stability, support for developmental activities and strengthening of the national economy. The governor is appointed by Emiri decision, holds the rank of minister and serves a five-year term that can be extended. The board is chaired by the governor and includes the deputy governor and at least five other members, among them representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Finance and of Business and Trade. Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani was governor and chairman of the board as of April 2025.
QCB Strategy 2024 to 2030 has four pillars: resilience and soundness, market development and diversification, digital transformation and payments, and research and international collaboration. The bank also works under the Third Financial Sector Strategy, aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030. Its fintech work includes a Regulatory Sandbox, the National Fintech Strategy 2023 and the first buy-now-pay-later licence, issued to PayLater in March 2025. The Qatar Renminbi Centre opened in 2015.
Oxford Business Group reported that banking sector assets were QR2.1 trillion in March 2025. TechScoop reported in July 2026 that QCB regulates the payments company SkipCash, that payment systems handled about 75 million transactions in June 2026, up 21 percent year on year, and that the bank had licensed 15 fintech payment firms by early 2026.