Bank cards mandatory at health centres in Qatar

A decision by Qatar's primary health centres to do away with cash transactions from July 1 has caused concern among citizens and foreigners, especially women and low-income expatriates who do not hold a bank account or an ATM card. The Primary Health Care Department has announced that bankcards have been made mandatory for transactions in all health centres from July 1 and that payment by cash will be stopped from that date. The announcement was advertised in local newspapers. Sources said that the decision was taken to ease transactions and upgrade the procedures at health centres, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Wednesday. However, several people, who rely on health centres for their regular health needs, said that they would face problems with the implementation of the new decision. Services at the health centres are free for Qataris, while expatriates have to pay for medicines that are often offered at very low prices, rarely exceeding QR25 ($6.8). Sometimes the cost of medicines is as low as QR3 ($0.82) or QR4 ($1.09). Several foreigners who do not hold bankcards wondered if they would be forced to open a bank account just for paying meagre sums for medicines at the health centres. "I will face difficulty with this decision since I do not have a bank account or a bankcard," an elderly woman was quoted as saying. "I will be forced to borrow a credit card from my husband or my son, but I do not know how to use it," she said. Patients at the expatriates' clinics are expected to be the worst affected. Most of them are low-income workers who do not hold a bank account. "I get my salary in cash. Part of it is spent here and the remaining is sent to my family back home," an Indian worker told the daily. "I never thought of opening a bank account since I do not have any savings." However, health centre sources said Qatar National Bank (QNB) would offer valuable assistance by issuing rechargeable cards at all major health centres to those who do not hold a bankcard.