Himyan: Qatar’s national debit card, explained for merchants

What Himyan is

Himyan is a national card scheme owned by Qatar Central Bank, issued by local banks as a debit card with a prepaid variant, and supporting contactless payment. The name refers to the money bag merchants used in ancient Arabia.

The banks issuing Himyan from launch included QNB, Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Dukhan Bank and QIIB, which covers most cardholders in the country.

Why it costs less: the NAPS network

All domestic Himyan transactions route over NAPS, the national ATM and point-of-sale network that Qatar Central Bank has operated since 1996, rather than over the international card schemes. QCB positions this as lower transaction cost for issuers, acquirers and merchants.

That saving only reaches you if your provider passes it on. Ask your gateway or acquirer directly whether Himyan transactions are priced differently from Visa and Mastercard on your account. A provider that charges one blended rate for everything is keeping the difference.

Accepting Himyan online

Himyan is a card, so it arrives through the same card acceptance you already have, provided your acquirer supports the scheme. Qatar Central Bank also operates its own e-commerce gateway, QPAY, which handles debit and prepaid card payments online.

Three questions for your provider:

• Does the checkout accept Himyan cards, and is it shown to the customer as an option?
• Is Himyan priced separately from the international schemes on my account?
• Do Himyan transactions settle on the same cycle as my other card payments?

Himyan in digital wallets

Qatar Central Bank announced Himyan support in Samsung Wallet on 30 August 2026, covering eligible Himyan debit and prepaid cards. Support in other device wallets has not been confirmed, so do not assume a Himyan card can be added to every wallet a customer uses.

Separately, NAPS supports tokenised transactions from Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay in general, which is how those wallets work in Qatar across schemes.

Where Himyan works outside Qatar

Himyan acceptance has been extended beyond Qatar: the card is accepted in Kuwait and Bahrain, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia have linked Himyan with the Saudi mada scheme. For a merchant selling to GCC customers this matters less than for travellers, but it is worth knowing that a Himyan card is not purely domestic.

Why a merchant should care

• Coverage: Himyan is issued by the major Qatari banks, so refusing it means refusing a card many local customers carry
• Cost: domestic routing over NAPS is positioned by QCB as cheaper than the international schemes
• Trust: a central-bank scheme is a familiar, local option at checkout
• Bargaining: knowing Himyan exists gives you a specific question to put to your acquirer about pricing

Where Rapid Gateway fits

Rapid Gateway serves merchants in Qatar with card acceptance and 3-D Secure plus local bank and QR payment methods in one checkout, settled in Qatari Riyal to a Qatari business account. Apply now for hands-on onboarding and 3 months of discounted pricing.

Frequently asked questions