QAR correspondent banking: who clears the QAR

Tracing a QAR chain

Each instruction names the institution holding that bank's QAR account. Following those links repeatedly ends at a bank that publishes no onward QAR instruction — the ultimate clearer, with direct access to clearing. That is where the money actually settles before moving inwards to the beneficiary.

Who clears QAR payments?

QAR settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a QAR payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 138 distinct institutions act as QAR correspondents.

How concentrated is QAR clearing?

The three largest QAR correspondents between them serve about 36% of the banks that publish a QAR instruction. Concentration matters because the withdrawal of one correspondent can affect a large number of respondent banks at once.

How do I find a bank's QAR correspondent?

Search the bank's BIC, select QAR, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.