i2C, Ooredoo to Bring Digital-First Payments to Qatar

The digital payments and banking firm i2C is working with the telecommunications company Ooredoo to offer new payments solutions — including digital-first prepaid cards and mobile wallets — to users in Qatar.

The companies announced the partnership in a news release Tuesday (Dec. 14), saying i2c will allow Ooredoo to issue physical and digital prepaid Visa cards, which customers can use to make tap-to-pay or QR-powered payments at point of sale.

“Our mission is to enrich the lives of our customers by providing seamless connectivity and enhanced digital experiences,” said Ooredoo CEO Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani. “We’re proud to partner with i2c to achieve this vision, and to have access to their deep domain expertise within the global payments landscape, as we enable next-generation payment experiences in Qatar.”

“We are thrilled to enable Ooredoo’s digital-first payment initiatives in Qatar, as the company works to expand the payment possibilities for the country,” said Amir Wain, founder and CEO of i2c. “Our single-code platform was designed to remove the friction in everyday payments, with faster time to market and unprecedented reliability, and we’re excited to bring these elements to the Ooredoo partnership.”

Read more: i2c Teams With BEYON Money, Visa to Roll out Mobile Payments App in Bahrain

This is i2c’s second partnership in the Middle East in as many weeks. On Dec. 2, the company said it was working with the mobile app BEYON Money to launch a digital wallet in Bahrain that allows for retail, bill and peer-to-peer payments, while also connecting bank accounts to open banking and providing financial insights.

The partnership will see BEYON develop card issuing and processing functions using i2c’s payments and banking platform.

Read more: i2c Adds Services in 10 More Markets

Last week, i2c announced it had recently launched programs in 10 markets and four continents, adding enterprise partners and working with companies like the Brazilian firm Crypto.com, Puerto Rico’s Standard International Bank, the U.S.’s Solid and Pakistan’s TAG.