Al-Othman: "Diraya" campaign is necessary to protect the economy and society

Banks are stronger than fraudsters and we are able to protect our customers

The timing of the campaign reflects the prudence of the Central Bank in view of the increasing reliance on digital banking

Educating our customers and protecting them is a fundamental part of NBK’s strategy.

The acceleration of digital transformation requires the combined efforts of banks, customers, and regulators

Mr. Mohammed Al-Othman, GM-Consumer Banking Group at National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) affirmed that NBK is keen to provide awareness to customers regarding their rights, and to protect them from fraud, achieve financial inclusion, and provide all prerequisites for top-notch services to all customers, which is the main goal of "Diraya" campaign recently launched by the Central Bank of Kuwait.

Al-Othman said: "NBK extends all types of support to key strategic initiatives of the Central Bank of Kuwait, the latest of which is “Diraya” campaign, which targets the best interests of the national economy and society."

In an interview with Kuwait TV, Al-Othman pointed out that NBK harnesses all its capabilities and digital channels to provide awareness to customers, as part of the bank’s endeavors to participate in the success of the campaign lasting until the end of this year.

Ongoing Awareness

Al-Othman noted that NBK exerts consistent efforts to provide awareness to its customers being a fundamental part of its strategy, and it always uses all communication channels to make them aware of the need to keep their PIN codes, and the data of their financial and personal accounts private, and not to share them with anyone contacting them and claiming to represent the bank, as the same applies to one-time password (OTP).

Al-Othman said, "Today, with the launch of the campaign, the stimulus will be greater for these efforts. We are confident that the campaign will bear its fruits, and banks, led by the Central Bank of Kuwait, will be stronger than fraudsters, and we will succeed in protecting our customers' data and accounts."

Al-Othman pointed out that the Central Bank’s initiatives to protect customers’ rights are not a new thing, as its decisions and guidelines for the banks have always targeted their best interests.

Digitization and Increased Responsibility

Al-Othman mentioned that the coronavirus pandemic accelerated customers' reliance on digital channels for their transactions, which required doubled and accelerated efforts, and this shows that the Central Bank has chosen the right time to launch the initiative.

“The mobile is now NBK’s largest branch, and most of the transactions are made using NBK Mobile Banking and NBK Online Banking. Supervisory. This places a great responsibility on the bank and its customers, as the acceleration in the pace of digital transformation is associated with risks that require the combined efforts of banks, customers and regulatory authorities.” he added.

Customers’ Rights

In line with the campaign's focus on protecting customers’ rights, Al-Othman explained that banks are committed to informing customers of their rights in compliance with the instructions of the Central Bank in this regard, saying: “We provide our customers with all information related to financing including interest, installments, loan amount, payment method and the monthly deduction to income ratio, then we allow a two-day contemplation period before concluding the transaction, even if the customer provided immediate acceptance in order to give them enough time to review all the details."

Al-Othman urged customers to follow banks’ accounts on social media platforms, which are keen to educate customers and help them protect their rights, money and data.

Financial Inclusion

“Diraya” campaign focuses on achieving financial inclusion, involving all segments of society in the formal financial system, and introducing them to safe and appropriate saving and investment channels for all segments.

In this context, Al-Othman explained that NBK started launching Zeina Account for the children segment decades ago, and is constantly working on developing banking products and services for the youth, and providing services that meet the needs of the salaried segment of employees, in addition to investment solutions and private banking services for high net worth customers with the aim of covering all segments of the society.

Social Responsibility

Al-Othman highlighted to NBK’s efforts in serving customers with special needs, which are of the key pivots of the campaign and which is paid special attention by the Central Bank, as seen in its mandate for banks to assign a fully-equipped branch for servicing special needs customers in every governorate.

Al-Othman added, "We are committed to assigning a fully-equipped branch in every governorate to service our special needs customers by making many modifications to the facilities, equipment and procedures necessary to provide all banking products and services to them."

Al-Othman enumerated the various facilities provided by NBK to its special needs customers including: ATMs equipped with Braille keyboards and earphones, which allow visually impaired customers to make easy and secure withdrawals, Braille printing facilities, trained staff to provide services in sign language to hearing-impaired customers, offering iPads with speech-to-text functionality for visually impaired customers, as well as wheelchair access to branches, and reserved, clearly marked parking spaces for them.

For more information about the campaign, please visit:

• NBK’s website

https://www.nbk.com/en/kuwait/services-and-support/let-s-be-aware.html 

• The campaign’s website:

https://www.dirayakw.com/ 

© Press Release 2021