The Central Bank of Kuwait’s recent decision to open the door for the establishment of digital banks signaled a new milestone in the state financial regulator’s drive for digitization and keeping abreast of the latest trends in global financial services, Executive Director of the Supervision Sector at the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Waleed Al-Awadhi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
He said that the digital banks will have no branches and will offer all banking services through digital channels.
This tech-based model saves cost and time, he clarified, adding that these banks do not have the paperwork complications of their traditional counterparts.
“What is new about the new banking license which was recently announced by the Central Bank is that it allows the establishment of a standalone digital bank, which can provide all banking services through online only,” he said. “Digital banks will be able to use the latest financial technologies to offer creative financial solutions at low costs.”
On February 2, the CBK issued guidelines specifying requirements for establishing digital banks as tech-based business models and opened the door for receiving applications and the required documents until the end of June 2022.