Fintech & payments regulation in Kuwait (2026)
Fintech and digital payments in Kuwait: licensing regime.
Kuwait operates a clear, in-force licensing regime for digital payments administered by the Central Bank of Kuwait. The 2023 e-payment instructions define multiple license categories (e-payment service providers and operators) with capital, governance, AML/CFT and cybersecurity requirements, and a national instant-payment rail (WAMD) is live. Open banking, by contrast, is still at the draft-framework consultation stage and not yet a finalized regime.
Legal framework
Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Instructions for Regulating the Electronic Payment of Funds, issued by Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (May 2023), which repealed the earlier 2018 regime (Resolution No. 44/430 of 2018). Statutory basis is CBK Law No. 32 of 1968 (as amended).
Key points: digital payments & fintech in Kuwait
Regulator & core regime
The CBK is the sole licensing and supervisory authority for electronic payment of funds. The current binding rules are the 2023 Instructions for Regulating the Electronic Payment of Funds (Resolution No. 45/471/2023), which replaced the 2018 instructions and are in force today.
License categories
The regime sets out distinct licenses corresponding to the nature/volume of activity, principally e-Payment Service Providers (EPSP, split into small and large) and e-Payment Service Operators (EPSO). Licensed EPSPs are listed on the CBK's register of regulated entities.
Capital & legal-form requirements
Large EPSPs must take the form of a joint-stock company with minimum capital of KWD 1,000,000, and EPSOs must be joint-stock companies with minimum capital of KWD 2,000,000, alongside governance, risk-management and customer-protection obligations.
AML/CFT & cybersecurity controls
The instructions impose binding requirements covering governance, risk-management frameworks, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing, cybersecurity, business continuity and consumer protection to safeguard the stability of Kuwait's payment system.
BNPL brought into scope
The 2023 update explicitly added Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) as a regulated activity within the e-payment supervisory framework, subjecting BNPL providers to CBK licensing and customer-protection measures.
Instant-payment rail (WAMD) live
Kuwait's national instant account-to-account payment system 'WAMD', operated via KNET under CBK supervision, went live in mid-2024 (NBK from 30 June 2024), enabling phone-number transfers up to KWD 3,000/day.
Open banking still in draft
The CBK issued a Draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework for consultation on 4 June 2025 (with a Wolooj regulatory sandbox for pilots); it is not yet finalized, and open-banking services are to launch in phases only after the framework is finalized.
Sources
- cbk.gov.kw/en/supervision/e-payment-services
- cbk.gov.kw/en/supervision/regulated-entities/e-payment-of-funds-companies/epayme
- cbk.gov.kw/en/cbk-news/announcements-and-press-releases/press-releases/2023/05/2
- cbk.gov.kw/en/cbk-news/announcements-and-press-releases/press-releases/2025/06/2
- tamimi.com/news/central-bank-of-kuwaits-overhaul-of-e-payment-regulations/
- glaco.com/blog/the-central-bank-of-kuwait-issues-its-new-instructions-on-the-el
- fintechfutures.com/instant-real-time-payments/kuwait-s-central-bank-approves-launch-of-n
- kuwaittimes.com/article/16052/business/nbk-launches-instant-payment-service-wamd-on-i
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 25 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026