4.55mn cheques worth QR310.54bn processed in Qatar in 2016: QCB
Gulf Times | August 1, 2017- More than 4.55mn cheques with a total value of QR310.54bn were processed in Qatar in 2016, a Qatar Central Bank analysis has shown.
While the total volume of cheques processed during 2016 remained stagnant compared to the same during previous year, the value of cheques processed decreased by 10.15%, the QCB said in its 8th Financial
Stability review.
The clearing system processes cheques above QR250,000 on a real-time basis, whereas those valued below QR250,000 are processed on a net basis by the end of the clearing day.
The usage of cheques as an instrument for conducting transactions has gone down as high value transactions are being conducted electronically.
Even though the number of cheques in the low denomination (below QR250,000) category comprised 96.5% of the total processed, in value terms, it accounted for 30.2% of the total value, the QCB report showed.
Cheques valued above QR1mn comprised 53.2% of the total, although their volume was only 0.94% of the total number of cheques processed.
Cheques processed with the highest value (above QR10mn) fell from 28.9% in 2015 to 22.2% in 2016, the report showed.
The real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) processed on an average 1,476 SWIFT transactions and around 634 high-value (above QR250,000) cheques transactions on a daily basis during 2016, the QCB said.
In the case of SWIFT transactions, while the number of transactions grew by nearly 12% in 2016 compared to a year ago; in value terms, the increase was only around 2%.
In contrast to SWIFT transactions, the number of cheque transactions remained flat while the total value of cheques transactions decreased by 11%.
The increase in both volume and value of electronic transactions on year-on-year (y-o-y) basis indicates that a preference towards transacting via electronic medium took place over cheques last year. A dip in the
value of cheque transactions indicated that such instruments were adopted for smaller amounts compared to the previous year, the report said.
The payments system continued to witness a shift from paper-based to electronic payment instruments, the QCB said.
An analysis of the monthly volume and value of transactions via SWIFT mode and through cheques indicate that SWIFT transactions remained active across the months, reflective of robust interbank market activity
as compared to cheque transactions.
The volume of SWIFT transactions on a daily average basis was more than double that of cheque transactions, whereas in value terms, SWIFT transactions were nearly 15-times of such transactions.
During 2016, both the retail and wholesale payment systems in Qatar witnessed growth compared to the previous year, both in value and in volume terms, the QCB said.
The secure electronic network system in Qatar (QATCH) handles the financial transactions, in Qatari riyals, among the banks within Qatar.
Transactions under QATCH increased in both value (9.9%) and volume (14%) terms over the previous year.
Even though transactions processed by SWIFT system saw only a slight increase in value of 1.6% in 2016 over the previous year, the volume growth of 11.4% indicated that more SWIFT transactions with similar or
less value per transaction took place during the year.
This was also corroborated by the fact that electronic cheque clearing (ECC) value declined by 9.9% with a slight increase in ECC volume of 1.2% in 2016.
QMR deposit and loans activity processed through the payment and settlement systems declined compared to the previous year.
The value and volume of transactions through ATMs and PoS increased over the previous year, more so in the local market compared to the GCC region, which indicated increased adoption of electronic means of transactions in Qatar.