Agility Company has applied to the Central Bank of Kuwait to obtain a license to establish a digital bank in the local market, becoming the first Kuwaiti company seeking to provide financial services, in line with the financial and technological changes that have occurred in the local and global markets.
According to Al Arabiya Net, the Kuwaiti Central Bank appointed about 3 months ago the global advisor to the American company McKinsey & Company to develop the technical and operational frameworks necessary to establish digital banks in Kuwait, as it is likely It will be completed in the near future.
The newspaper sources said that Agility's request regarding the establishment of a digital bank includes emphasis on technical aspects, cyber security, combating money laundering, terrorist financing and operational risks, indicating that the company has not yet identified The exact capital required to establish a digital bank in the local market, and that this is subject to the expected conditions of the Central Bank in this regard.
The sources indicated that, in light of the digital transformation process that the markets are witnessing at an accelerating pace, Agility plans to launch a digital bank parallel to traditional financial transactions, as part of its strategy to keep pace with technological development in both arenas. local and international.
And about the company's vision to compete with local banks, and whether it will change the game of banking competition, which is already burning due to the narrowness of the local market, the sources stated that it is not necessary to establish a digital bank to compete Conventional banks on their current business, and may even offer a banking model that targets a non-major segment of traditional customers, or provide financial businesses to the public that are not among the priorities of the banks’ work at present.
Agility aims to expand its logistics system by complementing its banking presence digitally to be more efficient in encouraging business and creating job opportunities in its sector, especially in light of the ease of these banks' procedures for transfers Electronic banking compared to the obstacles facing the customer in traditional bank branches.
It is reported that the Kuwaiti Central Bank asked McKinsey within the study to build a regulatory framework for the work of digital banks in Kuwait, provided that this includes the main objectives of companies operating in the sector, and their role in promoting The innovation system in financial services, determining what competition it will create locally, and the added value it will provide to contribute to the digital maturity of the financial sector.
