Qatar Islamic Bank Partners with PayLater to Launch Shari’a-Compliant BNPL Service

Malaz Madani

Last updated 30-07-2025

3 min

Qatar Islamic Bank partners with PayLater to launch a shari’a-compliant Buy Now, Pay Later service.

This collaboration adheres to Islamic finance principles, offering flexible payment plans for consumers and merchants.

It aligns with Qatar Central Bank’s agenda and supports the country’s broad sustainability goals.

PayLater sees this as transformative for consumer habits and business options in Qatar.

The initiative supports local tech startups, fitting into Qatar’s National Vision 2030.

Here’s something you don’t see every day in Qatar’s fintech scene: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), often billed as the country’s most prominent digital bank, has teamed up with local startup PayLater to roll out a shari’a-compliant Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service. Now, this might sound like just another fintech partnership, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. For the first time, a homegrown Qatari fintech is bringing a BNPL solution that sticks strictly to Islamic finance principles, giving both consumers and merchants a fresh way to handle purchases with a flexible payment plan.

Digging a bit deeper, QIB’s move fits right in with the Qatar Central Bank’s recent push to boost collaboration between banks and fintech outfits. It also ticks the box for the country’s broader sustainability vision. As someone who’s seen firsthand the faff startups can go through to find supportive banking partners in the MENA region, I reckon this partnership could genuinely help make financial inclusion more than just a buzzword. In a region where many smaller businesses can sometimes be left clutching at straws, combining QIB’s established credibility with PayLater’s creative tech solutions sounds, well… spot on.

Tarek Fawzi, the general manager for QIB’s wholesale banking group, described the deal as a “strategic milestone”—and you’d be hard-pressed to disagree. He pointed out the bank’s commitment to innovation and accessibility, a nod to pushing digital banking even further while still respecting traditional roots. Fawzi also mentioned supporting local tech startups as part of Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which, let’s be honest, is a big deal if the country wants its digital economy to keep up with its neighbours.

Meanwhile, PayLater’s co-founder Mohammed Al-Delaimi sounded chuffed to bits—highlighting how these BNPL services are reshaping both consumer habits and business options in Qatar. He stressed that partnerships like this one showcase what’s possible when banks and fintech firms put their heads together to create customer-focused products that (hopefully) don’t leave anyone behind.

Now, on the flip side, I must admit I’m not a fan of BNPL schemes that encourage people to bite off more than they can chew, financially. But when these systems are tailored to match strict shari’a compliance, they carry a whole different weight of responsibility—which is exactly what QIB and PayLater seem to be aiming for.

If you’re curious for more details or just want to have a nose through their new offerings, their websites have all the info. From what I’ve seen covering the region for Arageek, it’s moves like these—merging heritage with innovation—that tend to stand the test of time. Sometimes, seeing traditional banks embrace startup agility can be a breath of fresh air… even if digital transformation in banking is still a bit of a marathon, not a sprint.

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