Visa Official: Kuwait Steadily Progressing Towards Developed, Safe Digital Environment

KUWAIT, April 13 (KUNA) -- A top official at the Credit card service corporation (Visa) commended on Sunday Kuwait's progress within creating a safe digital environment, affirming that it was steadily developing and moving forward within this field.
Speaking to KUNA in an interview, Charles Lobo -- Senior Vice President, and Regional Risk Officer for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) at Visa -- indicated that the State of Kuwait had bolstered its digital payment system security via implementing the tight supervisory guidelines set by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).
This created a solid digital infrastructure, which boosted trust in electronic transactions that rivals global practices in this domain, he asserted, pointing out that the CBK's digital transformation strategy was a cornerstone in sustainable development especially within digital economy.
He indicated that Visa had carried out the "Stay Secure" study, showing that eight out of 10 consumers in Kuwait trusted digital payments with said consumers showing willingness to further use the tool in the foreseeable future.
Lobo noted that Kuwait was one of the pioneers in digital payment with a 92 percent usage rate, the highest in the GCC region, while contactless payment was at 99 percent, signaling a huge trust by consumers, an increase in retail purchase, and the country's commitment to building a safe, progressive, and comprehensive digital economy.
Lobo commended the cooperation between the public and private sectors within digital payment, stressing that such collaboration would ensure Kuwait maintaining a leading position in digital payment and financial technology.
Meanwhile, Lobo noted that the "Stay Secure" study showed that 94 percent of consumers in Kuwait had taken precautions to secure payments, while 53 percent refused to transfer money on behalf of other individuals via e-mail.
Some 53 percent avoided sharing card or account details with 40 percent of clients activating text messages notifications in case of any suspicious activity, he added.
Despite digital security awareness increasing, there are still challenges, Lobo said, revealing that the Stay Secure study had shown that 44 percent of consumers fell victim to fraud and 14 percent suffered repeatedly from such crime.
He mentioned that 91 percent of clients in Kuwait felt safe if the transaction required confirmation codes with 55 percent preferring security visible security icons.
He asserted that Visa continued to work with the Kuwaiti government, banks, and technological and digital payment companies, adding that there was closer cooperation with the CBK to boost security protocols to prevent fraud as well as increase awareness campaigns for consumers.
He revealed that there was increased cooperation with banks in AI technology to provide safer payment options for transactions, especially within retail, affirming that Visa encouraged touchless payment and digital wallets.
He revealed that Visa had invested some USD 10 billion in the last five years globally in cybersecurity.
Lobo noted that Visa used the 1994-founded CyberSource platform, which it acquired in 2010 for USD 2 billion, to provided functionality for payment processing for authorization, capture, and settlement of card transactions, worldwide.
The technology had saved USD 40 billion in electronic commercial income and prevented fraudulent operations worth USD 650 million, he said. (end) aam

MENAFN13042025000071011013ID1109423647