Himyan

Qatar Central Bank launched Himyan, the first national electronic card carrying a registered Qatari brand and owned by the bank itself, issued free on first application through QNB, Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Islamic Bank, Dukhan Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Commercial Bank. The public message was a cashless-society and financial-inclusion one, tied to the Third Financial Sector Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030, and the card ran on the domestic NAPS network with contactless payments and QPAY online acceptance.

The brief

Bank customers in Qatar, as the central bank pushed toward cashless payments and wider financial inclusion.

The idea

The central bank introduced Himyan, Qatar's first national e-card under a home-registered brand, which it owns, issued free on first request through seven local banks.

What to borrow

A national card brand gives a central bank's cashless push a single, visible product people can carry.