Kuwait Banking Association is a supporting partner in the “Digital Innovation in the Banking Sector” conference organized by the US Chamber of Commerce
The “Digital Innovation in the Banking Sector” conference was held Wednesday, January 31, 2024, which was organized by the US Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Kuwait Banking Association. The conference enjoyed a wide attendance from the leadership of government agencies, local and international universities, local and international private sector institutions, and the Kuwaiti banking sector.
Sheikh Ahmed Duaij Al-Sabah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Banking Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, began the conference with a speech in which he stressed the keenness of the Kuwaiti banking sector to keep pace with the development of the global financial scene, by adopting and encouraging digital innovation with a primary focus on financial technology with the aim of Enhance efficiency, reduce costs and improve customer experience. In this regard, Al-Duaij praised the efforts of the Central Bank of Kuwait within the framework of its digital transformation strategy, by taking many initiatives to transform Kuwait into a financial center by accelerating digital transformation efforts at the level of the banking and financial sector, in addition to his instructions issued to Kuwaiti banks to establish departments for innovation and digital transformation with the aim of enhancing the Digital solutions provided by banks to customers.
Al-Duaij explained that Kuwaiti banks are adopting the latest technologies to provide the best advanced banking services to their customers, whether individuals or companies, pointing out that the Covid-19 pandemic has helped accelerate the process of transforming banking services to become mostly via smartphones while adopting them as a suitable and easy platform for providing banking services to the public, noting that Mobile banking, online payments and digital wallets are now playing an essential role for customers.
Al-Duaij continued, revealing that statistics issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait in the third quarter of 2023 showed that the percentage of users of digital banking services in local banks amounted to about 51% of the total number of bank customers, compared to a percentage of 24% during the year 2017.
It is also worth noting that digital banking services provide users with convenient and secure financial transactions and enable them to manage their accounts, conduct their financial transactions, and enjoy various banking services at any time and from anywhere.
The Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Communications and Information Technology Authority, Mr. Abdullah Al-Ajmi, and the Acting Director of the Financial Technology Unit at the Capital Markets Authority, Ms. Zahra Al-Mousa, participated in the conference’s discussion sessions from government agencies. From the banking sector, the General Director of the Digital Transformation and Innovation Department at Kuwait International Bank, Mr. Mohammed Al-Sharif, Head of the Strategic Planning Group at Warba Bank, Mr. Hamad Al-Fawzan, and Head of Internal Audit at Boubyan Bank, Ms. Bushra Al-Wazzan.
This conference comes in the context of the ongoing cooperation between the State of Kuwait and the United States of America through the exchange valuable ideas and visions that will enhance the competition of the Kuwaiti banking sector regionally and encourage innovation.
