KYC in Kuwait

Know Your Customer requirements in Kuwait are set by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) for banks and finance companies, and the Capital Markets Authority for securities under Law No. 106 of 2013 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism. Regulated firms verify customers using the Kuwait Civil ID for citizens and residents, and passports for visitors, screen them against sanctions and PEP lists, assess risk and keep records for inspection.

Regulator and legal framework

KYC and AML obligations in Kuwait are supervised by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) for banks and finance companies, and the Capital Markets Authority for securities. The primary legislation is Law No. 106 of 2013 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, aligned with FATF recommendations and supplemented by regulator instructions on customer due diligence, record keeping and electronic onboarding.

Identity documents used

Customers are typically verified with the Kuwait Civil ID for citizens and residents, and passports for visitors. Automated verification checks the document's authenticity, reads its data, including non-Latin scripts where present, and matches the holder biometrically with liveness detection.

Points to note

• The Civil ID is the primary document and is widely used in digital onboarding.
• CBK has issued instructions enabling electronic onboarding with identity verification.
• Arabic and Latin name variants require careful screening configuration.
• Kuwaiti institutions often require data to be processed and stored locally.

How IDWise supports KYC in Kuwait

IDWise configures journeys, document rules, screening lists and retention per market, with deployment and residency options on AWS, GCP and Azure or a hybrid model with data stored on customer premises.

Frequently asked questions

Related terms