What you need to know
- Qatar has new support for Apple Pay after QNB enabled the feature for its cards.
- Customers can pay via contactless methods using iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple Pay just expanded further with Qatari bank QNB adding support for contactless payments via iPhone and Apple Watch. Users of Macs and iPads can also use Apple Pay to pay for items online, too.
Announced via press release, the move by QNB means that people will no longer need to deal with "handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash." All important points in a world where we continue to fight against the COVID-19 situation.
"We are proud for taking the initiative of bringing Apple Pay to the Qatari market. QNB has a reputation of providing its customers with state-of-the-art technologies. With Apple Pay payment services enabled to our customers, we commit to address their changing needs with the highest and most advanced levels of service," said Heba Al-Tamimi, General Manager, QNB Group's Retail Banking.
Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When customers use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store the payment information safely on the device.
Qatari customers will be able to use Apple Pay wherever contactless terminals exist as well as online stores. Apple Pay is perhaps one of the best iPhone features that is sadly underused — and the same could well be said about Apple Watch, too.
