Money, cards and ATMs in Qatar

The riyal

• QAR 3.64 to the US dollar, fixed since 1980. The central bank buys at 3.6385 and sells at 3.6415, and that is the whole story.
• There is no rate to watch and no good day to change money. What you get today is what you would have got last year.
• Change in the city rather than at the airport, where the spread is wider, or simply use an ATM.
• Exchange houses in the souq and the malls give close to the official rate.

Paying for things

• Cards work essentially everywhere, including taxis and the metro.
• Contactless is universal, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted widely.
• Carry QAR 100 to QAR 200 in cash for the souq, small cafes and tips.
• Always choose to be billed in riyals if a terminal offers your home currency.
• ATMs are free at bank branches and plentiful in malls and metro stations.

What the price does not include

• There is no VAT in Qatar, which is unusual in the Gulf and means the shelf price is the price.
• Hotels and restaurants add a service charge, commonly 10 percent, plus a municipality fee of 7 percent on hotel bills. A quoted room rate can grow by around a sixth.
• Ask for the total including all charges when booking a hotel.
• Alcohol is taxed heavily - a beer in a hotel bar runs to QAR 50 or more - which is the single largest surprise on a Doha budget.

Tipping

• Not obligatory and increasingly expected in tourist places.
• 10 percent in a restaurant where no service charge has been added; nothing where one has.
• QAR 5 to QAR 10 for a porter or a housekeeper, in cash.
• Round up a taxi fare.
• Cash reaches the person; a card tip often does not. Most service staff are migrant workers on low wages, which is worth remembering.

Declaring money

• Cash, precious metals or gems above QAR 50,000 must be declared on the way in.