KIB becomes first Bank in Kuwait to join Visa Ready

By Leandra Monteiro

Kuwait International Bank (KIB), a sharia-compliant Kuwaiti Bank, announced that it has joined the Visa Ready for Fintech Enablement program.

Through this program, they will be able to provide both FinTechs and traditional issuers full enablement stacks for digital issuance speeding up their time to market and addressing the needs for digital/technology first strategies.

“The collaboration between KIB and Visa represents an exciting milestone for the Kuwaiti banking industry,” stated Mohammed El Shareef – GM Digital Transformation & Innovation, Kuwait International Bank. “Through this partnership, KIB is positioned to transform the landscape of card services, providing our partners with cutting-edge solutions and empowering them to deliver exceptional customer experiences.”

KIB has become the first bank in Kuwait to join Visa Ready, to offer CaaS across diverse industries. This means that Airlines, Telecommunications companies, Exchange houses, FinTechs, and Retailers can now leverage KIB’s expertise and tap into the immense potential of card services.

Through KIB’s work with Visa, KIB will offer card issuance solutions to FinTechs and non-Banking entities in Kuwait.

Under its BaaS strategy, KIB is revolutionising the financial landscape by offering a comprehensive CaaS (Card as a Service) program to its B2B partners. As a part of this full-stack solution, KIB will provide Program Management services, and Payment Infrastructure Services to partners seeking to provide exceptional card services to their customers.

“We believe this collaboration will help our fintech clients deliver improved customer experiences in Kuwait faster and easier than ever,” said Ankush Devadason, Visa’s Head of Financial Institutions for Kuwait. “Visa is therefore delighted to grant KIB Visa Ready BIN Sponsorship certification, and we are looking forward to collaborating with them in building out the capabilities fintechs need to drive the expansion of a digitally connected payments ecosystem in Kuwait.”