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A credit card is an important tool in your financial arsenal. It makes spending much easier and also streamlines tasks like monthly loan and bill payments.

However, you must always get a reputed Mastercard in Kuwait, from a leading bank based in the country. Not only this, you must also be quite careful and responsible when using the card. There are umpteen cases of people spiralling into credit card debt, and taking multiple credit cards to repay the loans on the previous ones! As long as you use the card responsibly, it is the best tool to have for spending.

How A Credit Card Helps

A credit card helps you make big ticket purchases, from cars to home theatre systems, and from booking international holidays to even paying off loans. The credit card offers a multi-faceted use whether you have funds lying in your bank account or not.

Thus, the credit card helps you buy things ‘on credit’ from the bank. All you have to do is settle the payment when the credit card bill is presented to you the following month. Till then, your purchases and bill payments are deemed immediate.

A good card like the World Mastercard in Kuwait comes with a host of benefits, from reward points to heavy discounts (more on this in the section below). With every KD you spend, you are bound to receive some incentive or another. This helps you streamline your spending so as to gain maximum mileage out of the card.

An important benefit of the World Mastercard in Kuwait is that it opens the doors for several other experiences for you to enjoy, with valuable tie-ups with reputed merchants.

A credit card saves you from theft from your account. Since the money you pay from a credit card is essentially a credit payment extended to you, you don’t stand to lose your KDs if an online fraudster happens to hack into your transaction. If such an online theft does occur, you simply have to report it to the credit card issuing bank and the local police station. The issuing bank then takes up the issue and you are not penalised for the theft in any way.

Maximise Your World Mastercard In Kuwait

Leading banks in Kuwait are offering their customers the unparalleled advantage of the World Mastercard. Everything from complimentary nights at 5-star hotels to splendid offers on retail and entertainment are covered under this card. Let’s look at some of these benefits and why you should get this card for yourself:

A rewards program with a gigantic network spanning over 800 partners in Kuwait

Enjoy a supplementary card for a family member when you take your Mastercard

Your bank protects you when you shop online with additional security protocols for the Mastercard in Kuwait. Even your Internet banking is done more securely

Complimentary hotel night stay at over 200 Marriott Bonvoy Hotels in the GCC and Africa regions

Get up to 10% off on your stay in luxury service apartments abroad, with a network of over 2,000 properties to choose from

Pay a flat fee of just USD 15 to book visa for your travel with the World Mastercard in Kuwait

Gt up to 10% off on booking your travel through cleartrip.com

Get 20% off on rides with Careem by booking via your card

Get access to LoungeKey, a new airport lounge program where you can enjoy over 900 lounges in 300 airports around the world

Get travel insurance coverage of up to USD 500,000 when you buy your flight tickets using the card

Get free valet parking at select malls and retail outlets

Get many additional offers via the Mastercard for You app

How To Get The Mastercard In Kuwait

Apply for the card online on your bank’s portal. Fill out the information asked for and let the bank revert to you.

In the meantime, study the bank’s fees and charges for the card. Leading banks waive off fees for the first year’s use, while subsequent years may be free if you spend a minimum amount of money on the card.

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How to Get a Housing Loan in Kuwait

The GCC countries have been performing well in several business sectors like public infrastructure, building construction, real estate and crude oil. Stepping away from their over-reliance on revenue from petroleum and crude oil, these nations began exploring revenue-generating options in other sectors. These are now boosting the economy in more ways than one.  

Real estate has picked up spectacularly in countries like Kuwait. The country has performed remarkably well in this sector over the last decade. In major part, the credit for the real estate boom goes to pro-consumer Government policies while also facilitating several modes for developers to conceive and complete projects on time. Another factor has been the role of banks in offering easy and flexible housing loans to potential clients.

Are you an expat looking to invest in a house in Kuwait this year? The following points are pertinent for you:

Contrary to the old housing law no. 74/1979, even expats regardless of their nationality may invest in property in Kuwait.

However, expats must note that the house they buy must not exceed 350 square metres in area.

You cannot buy more than one house in all of Kuwait if you already have a house admeasuring 350 square metres in the country.

You qualify to buy a house and avail of a home loan only if you have lived in Kuwait for a period of 10 consecutive years or more.

The ability to buy a residence in Kuwait does not give expats Permanent Resident (PR) status.

If you lose your employment after getting the housing loan and while the loan is still being repaid, you must inform the lending bank about the same and then proceed to sell the house.

Lending banks will fully scrutinise your source of income, annual income, apartment that you wish to purchase, documents for the property, etc.

Let’s move on to understanding how to get the housing loan in Kuwait:

Apply for the loan at a leading bank, for easy, flexible application processes and quick disbursal subject to thorough background checks.

You can check if you are eligible for the home loan, and get the application process underway by keying in your personal details as prompted on the bank website.

The bank then processes the information you submit in the form, and gets in touch with you for the right housing loan product.

The loan is processed and disbursed quickly so that you can proceed to purchase the property.

According to the leading bank - NBK, here is the brief information on who can apply for a loan and how much you can apply for.

You should be younger than 70 years at the maturity of your loan

Minimum salary should be KD 400

You can apply for minimum of KD 1000 and maximum of 70,000.

What documents an expat is expected to supply for application ?

You have to provide your salary certificate

A copy of your civil ID is required

The documents required and the loan amount to be disbursed may vary for different banks in the region.

For more information on a housing loan in Kuwait, you can visit NBK or other bank websites in the region.

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5 Reasons Why You Should Opt for Mobile Banking

Mobile banking in Kuwait has considerably improved in the past few years due to the exceptional service from National Bank of Kuwait. Mobile banking in Kuwait provides applications that incorporates all kinds of options provided by the bank to meet the requirements of each of their customers. Today the banking sectors in Kuwait focuses a considerable amount in banking innovations and developing much needed digital services. They are now improvising the traditional services and introducing several mobile banking technologies into the traditional banking sectors.

Here are five of the main reasons why you should opt for mobile banking in Kuwait,

1. Innovation and versatility: Banking sectors in Kuwait are focusing into innovating the mobile banking services and putting a strong emphasis on versatility and quality of mobile banking. The banking applications that are developed allows safe, simple and easy management and transaction of finances at any place during anytime. You can operate your account anywhere through your cell phone send money, receive money, pay bills, track your payments, bill payment alerts, and many more facilities are available.

2. Management of finances: Without visiting a physical branch you can easily open a bank account and manage your finances through mobile applications at any place. Any customer can review the previous transactions and also make new transaction through mobile banking.

3. Deposit Calculator: The mobile banking in Kuwait provides a special feature call the deposit calculator which can be utilized to check the amount of interest when your savings period ends. This can be done by entering the amount that is required to be paid and the deposition period. Along with this benefit you can also set up a particular deposit amount to be deposited at a particular time, and you don't have to visit a bank for that.

4. Rewards: Mobile banking is becoming considerable popular among the new generation but it is still very much alien to the previous generation. And to make the previous generation involved in this new innovative technology various banking sectors in Kuwait are offering exceptional rewards and loyalty points that can be collected to utilize while shopping travelling and on flight tickets.

5. SMS Alerts: Withdrawing and depositing money has become much safer with mobile banking due to constant SMS alert that informs you regularly about all your transactions. Along with this you receive an OTP for one time password while transacting any kind of business through mobile banking without that password any transaction won't be possible. If there is any kind of unknown or abnormal activity going on with your account you will instantly be allotted about it through SMS.

The best thing about mobile banking apps it is constantly evolving and innovative technological services are constantly being added to it. The services are improving and financial management is becoming much simpler due to mobile banking.

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Essentials of Housing Loan in Kuwait

Buying a home is always a proud moment for all of us. We often look forward to getting a new property, decorate it as per our needs and live there peacefully, enjoying our lives. However, buying a new home has become difficult nowadays due to the increasing property rates. This is where the housing loan becomes beneficial in order to fulfil our dream. The Gulf countries like Kuwait always welcome a large number of expats for the business as well as employment purpose. Besides, the residents also possess the need for housing.

Banks in Kuwait offer housing loan with several applications of it.

Before opting for the housing loan, you first need to be the customer of the bank. This can be done by opening at least a savings account in the same bank.

Your age must be 70 years at the time of maturity. While choosing the tenure, you must keep this in mind. Besides, you must have a salary of at least KD 400.

Once you fulfil these criteria, you can go for the home loan in order to purchase a new property, a resale one, construct a new one, or even to renovate your existing house.

The tenure for the loan can be chosen up to 15 years, and the maximum amount that can be availed as a loan is KD 70 thousand.

The interest rates are competitive and currently set to be at 6%. Understand that the interest is calculated on the reducing balance method. It is the most beneficial way for you. As you pay an instalment on the principal amount, the interest for the next instalment is calculated on the remaining amount, reducing the earlier instalments from the principal.

If you are salaried and your salary account is with another bank than that of from which you are taking a loan, you need to transfer your salary to the current bank in order to an automatic deduction.

The tenure of the loan can be chosen from 12 months to 180 months, as per your convenience. One year is the minimum period.

The interest rate is reviewed every five years, and if you have chosen the tenure of 15 years, the maximum increase or decrease in the interest will not exceed 2% of the interest rate at the time of commencement of the loan.

If you receive a sufficient amount in your bank and wish to settle the housing loan earlier, you can do it without paying any fee or future interest.

Most of the banks in Kuwait provide you with an option of insuring your housing loan. Here, in case of an unfortunate demise of yours, the outstanding amount is settled. If the event occurs before settling half of the loan amount, the nominee needs to settle only the half, and the rest is taken care of by the insurer.

Banks offer housing loan calculators on their websites with the help of which you can get the right quote as how much will be the instalment for a particular amount and tenure.

If you are planning to buy a house in Kuwait, but waiting for adequate finances, go for the housing loans undoubtedly.

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Fulfil Your Financial Needs with Salary Loan in Kuwait

Financial management is the crucial thing when it comes to purchasing something new, or even sustaining the lifestyle. Almost all of us believe in savings and investments, but sometimes we have no option than that of borrowing some money to fulfil the desired goal. The Gulf countries like Kuwait welcome a large number of individuals every year, and to help them settle in the country; many banks offer personal loans at considerable rates. Usually, several types of loans are available, but when it comes to the money crunch for multiple reasons, personal loans play an essential role.

There’s another concept being popular viz- salary loan in Kuwait. We all need a particular amount every month to run regular operations. Sometimes, the payday is a bit far, and expenses are at the doorstep. In such cases, personal loan helps as a salary loan in Kuwait. Personal Loan can be used anywhere as-

Medical Emergencies don’t come notifying you prior to the incidence. The medical costs are gone high during these few years; one needs to be financially prepared while testing any possibility. Diagnosis, hospital admissions, medication, ambulance charges and post-hospitalisation can burn a big hole to your pocket. Waiting for the salary might not be possible; here, a personal loan works as a salary loan in Kuwait.

The emergency of cash can also never be predicted. Personal loans are easy to avail and fulfil the need of money liquidity. A personal loan can be used anywhere.

Home Décor and renovation is another thing which needs a bunch of money. One can use a personal loan for the same in case of running short on the budget.

Sometimes, vacations and other events are also important and fulfilling the regular financial needs consumes the entire salary. Here, you may need some money.

Now that you have understood where a personal loan can be used as a salary loan in Kuwait. There’s some basic requirement to get a personal loan in Kuwait such as you should have a minimum salary of KD400 and should be younger than 70 years at the time of maturity. So, choose the tenure wisely. The maximum limit of borrowing loan is about KD 25 thousand with the interest rate of 6% per annum. The minimum loan amount you can avail is KD 1000 with a period of 12 to 60 months. Many banks offer an online process where you can submit all the required documents through the website and get approval from the bank. The entire process easy and less time-consuming.

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Let Your Dream Come True with a Home Loan in Kuwait

What is your dream, or when you stabilise what is that comes to your mind first? We can guess it- a new home! Having own property, especially first home is one of the most exciting events of our life.

Buying a new home is not just an ordinary activity. Right from booking it to taking possession, you eagerly handle all the situations; and when it comes to home décor, you have infinite scope to decorate it creatively. However, to make the property a perfect home as you desire, money plays the most critical role, and your dreams may get stuck at this point. To overcome such queries, banks have the best option for home loans.

The Gulf countries, especially Kuwait, have a lot of incomings footsteps from other countries. The emigrants have an option of getting expat loans; but for the people who are looking forward to settling down, home loan in Kuwait is the most beneficial option.

Usually, any home loan in Kuwait can be availed in order to purchase a new property, constructing a new one, or even renovate the existing house. The interest rates offered by the banks are competitive and beneficial to customers. The maximum amount of KD 70k can be borrowed for the maximum tenure of 15 years. Similarly, the minimum loan amount you can choose for is KD 1 thousand. Banks offer you the tenure from 12 months to 180 months.

Banks in Kuwait allow you to get the home loan bearing in mind that at maturity, your age will be at most 70 years. Besides, every bank has some norms that minimum salary proofs have to be submitted to get the loan approved. Usually, the minimum salary requirement is KD 400.

The interest rate for a home loan in Kuwait is calculated on reducing balance method, at 6% on the remaining loan amount. While taking a home loan in Kuwait, you need to transfer your salary to the respective bank as the instalments will be deducted directly from your account. If by chance the loan tenure extends above 180 months, it is made sure that the interest rates will not be increased more than 2% to the predefined standards.  

One of the most important things is, many banks offer you a provision of insuring your loan. If by misfortune you meet any uncertainty, the future instalments will be terminated, and the loan will be settled. In this case, the bank bears half of the premium towards the insurance, and the remaining half has to be paid by you. In short, availing the home loan in Kuwait comes with lots of advantages and allows you to let your dream of a home come true.

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Open An NBK Savings Account | Savings Plan | NBK

The NBK Savings Account offers a practical way to earn interest on your savings on a yearly basis, whilst maintaining your ability to withdraw and transfer money. Open the NBK Savings account online now.

https://www.nbk.com/kuwait/personal/accounts/saving-accounts/saving-account.html

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The Process to Open Bank Account in Kuwait

Money is the only thing in today’s life which helps you sustain your lifestyle, rather live in this world. We always tend to keep a part aside from the monthly income and save it for the sake of emergencies or any other financial needs. This need is fulfilled by opening a bank account.

When you are in Kuwait and expect to open a bank account, you have multiple choices like term deposits and savings accounts. While considering the regular needs, a savings account is the most popular type of bank accounts.

Savings bank account helps you in several ways, and the significant advantage is you can not only save your money but also grow it at the given interest rates. At the time of opening the bank account in Kuwait, the banks offer debit cum ATM card through which you can access thousands of ATM all over the globe. Also, the online purchase of the products also becomes easy.

Along with opening the savings bank account in the bank, you are also entitled to use net banking services. Funds transfer, online purchases, and several other operations can be performed using net banking.

It is often asked how to open a bank account in Kuwait? Here is the solution.

Firstly, choose the bank where you wish to open your savings bank account. Always make sure that you choose the reputed and national banks so that all the security measures are taken very carefully. While asking how to open a bank account in Kuwait, especially savings bank account, you must understand that the interest rates on savings are considerably low. However, the convenience of withdrawal flexibility is concerned, savings bank accounts are always the best.

To open an account, you need some necessary things such as residence visa, NOC issued by your employer, passport copy, and photos. Furthermore, the banks may ask you to submit a few more documents such as tenancy document

For new customers, the banks make it mandatory to have a minimum balance which is KD 500 or more. Sometimes, the loyal customers may also get the advantage of lowering the limit to KD 100.  

There are several ways to open an account. You can either go to the bank personally and open your account by submitting the form and providing hard copies of the documents. Another way, it can be done online too. You just need to visit the website of a particular bank (where you want to open your account), fill the form and submit the scanned copies of the documents online.

Once the process is done, a confirmation letter with a debit card, passbook and other credentials will be delivered to the registered address.

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Applications of Personal Loans

What is needed to sustain your lifestyle, or getting upgraded to a new one? Better clothes? Better property? Better standard of living? Of course, yes, but money comes before all these things. The financial emergencies may hit anytime, and when they do, they often come with some mental stress. Here, we often seek someone who’ll help us in the financial crisis or at the time when we want money. Yes, in such cases, banks become your friend and offer personal loans to you with the help of which you can fulfil your needs.

Usually, we all know that when buying a car, we take an auto loan; while buying a house, we avail home loan. But what if something is needed which cannot be incorporated in such loan categories? Here personal loans make you stress-free by allowing you to use the amount for any reason you want. If you are in countries like Kuwait in the middle-east, banks are at your service to provide personal loans.

Setting Up a Business?

Setting up a business requires a bunch of money as capital. Just purchasing the property is not essential; but it needs a lot of other stuff such as machinery, stationary, staff and other essentials. Earlier stating a small business was a big query as of how to accrue the funds. However, personal loans have made it easier for passionate people and young entrepreneurs.

Medical Emergencies

Medical emergencies are the most important to be taken care of. By any misfortune, if somebody in your family fall prey to any illness or disease, the concern is to manage the financial budgeting. Be it anything, a bypass surgery to chemotherapy; you need a lot of money to get over such medical situations. Here, personal loans in Kuwait are beneficial.

Home Décor

Buying a new home and renovating the home décor is entirely different. Home loans allow you to buy a new property, but you are not entitled to modify your home décor in most of the cases. Home décor undoubtedly enhances the overall ambience of your house, but it comes at considerable costs. By availing personal loans, you can also improve the décor as per your choice, irrespective of the price.

Vacation

Vacation is one of the memorable periods for any family. Sometimes, you may feel to roam around the world alone. Travelling costs and accommodation are two critical factors that you need consider, especially when you are going abroad. With the help of personal loans in Kuwait or any other country, you can enjoy your vacation without any doubt.

Following are some of the applications of personal loans in Kuwait and the list still goes on such as buying a vehicle, settling up the taxes, events like wedding, education of your children, and so on. Thus, get a personal loan in Kuwait and live stress-free.

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Money Withdrawal Is Easy with ATM

The middle-east attracts several expats due to significant employment opportunities. But, living in another country brings a big question of cash liquidity. Not every shop or the store has a card swiping facility; even you cannot use net banking at such places. Here come ATMs in the picture that enable you to get the necessary cash at the given time without any hassle. Several banks offer ATM in Kuwait using which money withdrawal comes at your convenience.

A Kuwaiti Dinar is made up of 1000 fils. It is the currency of Kuwait and denoted as KD or KWD. You will get multiple currency exchange centres that allow you to exchange the currency with KD instantly. The currency exchange centres are available almost everywhere; right from big malls to commercial complexes and from dedicated centres to street crosses. You need to submit original documents that are required for currency exchange. The documents are nothing but the Civil ID or passport. If you fail to be providing any of the required documents, you may not be entitled to the currency conversion.  

Whenever roaming in the middle east, especially in Kuwait, you will get multiple ATM centres. The banks offer a large number of ATMs in Kuwait available at almost every square and other public places. Using the ATM card issued by a particular bank, in the centre of the same bank, will not levy any charges on the transactions. Sometimes, the banks may levy processing fees on the transactions made through another bank’s ATM in Kuwait. The charges differ from bank to bank. The types of cards that you can use in ATM in Kuwait can be enlisted as Maestro Cards, MasterCard, Cirrus Cards, Visa Cards, Amex Cards, and so on  

To avail the service of ATM in Kuwait, make sure that you open an account in the bank you want. The account can be opened with the help of some documents such as residence permit and your Civil ID. Once the documents are provided, and the application form is submitted, you will be allotted an account. Sometimes the bank offers ATM card along with the account, or you need to apply for the same separately.

ATM centres have several advantages. You can use it not only for a withdrawal of the money but also for transferring the funds, know your balance and get mini statements for your latest transactions. In short, ATM in Kuwait has made it easy for the people to perform most of the transactions you want.

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Where Can I Use Personal Loan?

The loan is one of the things that most of the people often avail at least once in their life. Be it anything, from children’s education to their marriages, from purchasing a new home to a new car, and from going abroad to medical emergencies, the provision to cover the insufficient money is nothing but the loan. Usually, you must be aware of the different types of loans such as an educational loan, home loan, and vehicle loan etc. But apart from these known types, there is also a personal loan which can be used against multiple purposes. Let’s see what the different areas are where we can use a personal loan in Kuwait.

Buying a New Vehicle

Purchasing a vehicle is the dream for most of us. It may be a two-wheeler or a car, the desire of owning a vehicle can be seen at each home. The banks offer vehicle loans specifically to buy the one which you like, but you can also use the personal loan to buy a new vehicle, which you have already taken for another reason.

Debt Consolidation  

If you have already availed a loan and finding it difficult to maintain a balance between the instalments and the regular household expenditure, you can get the personal loan to adjust or pay-off the previous loans and liabilities.

Buy or Renovate the Home

The banks and financial institutions offer home loans; but if you want to go with the personal loan and buy a new house, you can. Based on the overall limit of the loan you can avail, you can check whether the home can be purchased or not. Also, renovating a house is also a significant task that requires considerable amount. Here too you can use the personal loan.

Medical Emergencies

If you do not have any mediclaim or health policy, you can obtain a personal loan to cover the expenses incurred towards the medical bills.

Business Purpose

Setting a business is never an easy task. Not only hard-work but it also needs a lot of money to set-up all the assets. You can get personal loan aiming to set-up your business and settle it as the business grows up.

Vacation and Events

When it comes the events like marriage or the reception, a bunch of money is expected anyway. Here personal loans can be useful. Furthermore, you can avail it while going abroad or on any vacation.

When you are residing in the middle-east, especially Kuwait, you should consider all the aspects given above. Besides, there are several reasons for which you can get personal loan in Kuwait such as taking care of your pets, for your hobbies, paying off the heavy taxes etc.

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Availing Loan in Kuwait is Easy

People often think that the lifestyle can be upgraded by getting new things; thus, they aim to purchase more modern assets and the other stuff. Kuwait is the country in the middle east that is known as one of the prominent provinces that have natural gas and oil refineries. This is the main reason why people migrate to the gulf, and especially Kuwait. But, moving to Kuwait doesn’t solve all your queries. You are entirely in a new province where you look to start your lifestyle from scratch. Here in this article, we’re going to take a look at what are the essentials of availing the loan in Kuwait for expats.

Primarily, you need to understand that the major banks in Kuwait offer you the loan if and only if you have a minimum salary of KD 400. There are also a few banks that offer you a loan at the salary of KD 300, but that may on some conditions. The government of Kuwait has implemented some strict regulations due to which the number of unqualified expatriates for the loan has been increased as compared to the past. The banks, undoubtedly, want some guarantee that the person availing the loan would repay it in the given tenure. This is the reason why the small wage earners are typically kept on hold or refused to get the loan.

If you are an expat, you definitely need some loans in Kuwait to set up your home, car, furniture or any asset. You can opt for the expat loan to fulfil your needs. Firstly, you need to be a customer of the bank in Kuwait, and make sure that your age is maximum 65 years or around at the time of maturity; hence the tenure has to be chosen likewise.

The banks, most of the times, calculate the rate of interest on the reducing balance basis. In this method, the expat loan interest rate is calculated based on the total amount of the outstanding loan after the instalment cycle. Once the previous instalment is paid, the total outstanding amount is reduced, which leads to minimising the next instalment. This method is beneficial to the customers as they spend lesser than the fixed interest rates on the overall loan amount. The reducing balance loan interest is calculated as the product of the applicable interest rate and the outstanding loan amount.

Nowadays, several banks offer loan calculators to get an idea of how the loans in Kuwait would be, in terms of tenure, instalments, and the loan amount. Whenever opting for the expat loans, use the loan calculator to avoid the chaos of the calculation.

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Banks at Your Service in Kuwait

When you are planning to visit Kuwait, the first thing that comes to your mind is the liquidity of cash. It is not always possible to use the credit or debit cards, or even net banking at every shop you go. Thus, you always need to carry sufficient cash with you while going out. Banks in Kuwait offer several services to the customers with the help of which you can have your trip hassle-free.

Firstly, it needs to be understood that the currency of Kuwait is called Kuwaiti Dinar, usually denoted as KD. The breakup of one Dinar is nothing but 1000 fils. To offer the ease of service, several currency exchange centres are made available all over Kuwait. Be it any mall, street-crosses, commercial complexes or any shopping centre; you will find currency exchange centres at each corner. The only thing you need to remember is carrying the original documents, i.e. your passport or civil ID. Failing to provide the required documentation may lead to barring the currency conversion.

The entire middle-east, especially Kuwait has a large number of ATMs of several banks, located at every public place. You can find ATM centres wherever you visit. If you are using the ATM card of the specific bank, you will not be charged. However, many banks levy processing fees when withdrawing money from the ATM of a different bank. These charges will differ from bank to bank. Mostly, every ATM in Kuwait accepts several types of cards such as Cirrus Cards, MasterCard, Maestro Cards, Amex Cards, Visa Cards, and so on. Like other countries, ATMs in Kuwait have a limit to withdraw the money per day.

If you are new to Kuwait, you first need to open an account in a particular bank. For this, you will be asked to submit a few documents such as your civil ID and residency permit. By providing the documents and following the defined process by the bank, you can have your account. At the same time, the bank issues you an ATM cum debit card. You shall get the credit card also if you apply for the same.

ATMs in Kuwait are also full of different applications such as you can transfer your funds to another account, you can check your account balance along with withdrawing the cash and so on. In short, ATMs in Kuwait is the easiest way of availing most of the regular banking services.

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Fundamentals of Loan Calculator

What do we do while purchasing any term insurance policy? Often, we visit aggregator websites to get access to the insurance premium calculator. It shows some insurance plans that suit our requirements best. Now consider such a toolkit which helps you in determining the instalments or EMIs of the loan. Yes, such toolkits are called loan calculators. Here in this article, we shall focus on fundamentals of the loan plan calculators, which will help you understand the essentials of loans and Kuwait bank rates.  

Usually, the loan calculator comes with several dashboards that show different charts and graphs, which furthermore help you get a better understanding of your loan transactions. It also enables you to get the clear picture of different types of loans such as car loan, home loan, personal loan etc. To get the information about a specific loan, you need to provide the required information to the calculator.

Desired Principal Loan Amount

This is the amount you want to borrow as a loan from the bank. You can set currency as per the country.

The term of the Loan

This is the period for how long you want to avail the loan. You need to provide the precise amount of years and months.

Rate of Interest

This is the overall interest rate charged by the bank. Sometimes, banks apply a particular caping for the given interest rates. The rate is calculated in terms of percentages.

To make it more interesting, the timeline bars are provided. Once all the required information is provided, the calculator will show the amount of EMI for the numbers you have provided. The total interest will be presented in another tab, and finally, a tab stating the total amount of loan (principal plus interest) will be displayed.

Some EMI calculators also provide a dashboard to project your EMI status against the timeline, along with a full chart of the payables for the entire tenure. If you are not sure about the interest rates or how the tenure of the loan should be, use the loan calculator to get a rough idea of what you get and what you need to repay in how much time. Many calculators have a provision of comparing the interest rates of different banks, which makes it easier to decide which plan to buy.

To conclude, like insurance calculators, loan EMI calculators also help you understand the fundamentals of your loan. Several banks in the middle-east and Kuwait offer loan calculator facility. Kuwait bank rates are affordable for different types of loans.

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How ATM Cards differ from Debit Cards

The term of plastic money was introduced in last few decades through which you need not carry actual currency with you; the money can be paid with the help of a single plastic card while roaming in Kuwait or any corner of the world. Not just that, but the plastic cards let you withdraw your money from the machine whenever needed.

Gone are the days of carrying a lot of money in pocket and the fear of robbery. The technology has emerged in such a way that you can send your money to another destination on just one click. However, these plastic cards also have different types, designed for different purposes. The most common types used in the middle east and Kuwait among the cards are ATM cards and Debit Cards. People often get confused by these two types; most of the times they don’t even know these two cards differ from each other. Following are few basics about ATM and Debit Cards.

The ATM card is nothing but a plastic card containing the details of the bank account of that specific customer. The word ATM can be elaborated as an Automated Teller Machine. The banks have a large set-up of centres that houses such ATMs, where you can withdraw the money using the ATM card. It is much convenient that you can withdraw money almost 24/7.

On the other hand, a Debit Card is also a plastic card which, one step ahead, lets you make payment electronically, either on websites or at the spot of purchase. The additional benefit of the debit card is that the mobile banking services can be easily linked with the cards.

To quote the differences-

ATM cards are meant to provide service of money withdrawal at the ATM centres in Kuwait. Debit cards allow you to make payments electronically at the time of purchase.

The functionality differs, along with the specifications. ATM card has comparatively fewer functions than that of Debit Card.

The money deduction from the account happens on the withdrawal of money physically in the ATM, whereas in the case of Debit, it occurs when the money is transferred.

The Debit Card can be used in internet banking, whereas the ATM card doesn’t support such services.

On the concluding note, both the cards have some similarities such as they offer the facility of balance enquiry, card security with a unique PIN, and the physical appearance of the plastic cards. Analyse how frequently you make purchases in Kuwait and in what way. Choose for ATM or Debit according to your needs.

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Features of Online Banking

In this era of technology, most of the things are getting digitised, and banking sector in gulf is not an exception for it. The concept of online banks is getting more popular among the customers because of ease of use and the other benefits. Online banking in the Gulf countries generally help people who wish to do transactions at their ease. Online banking is nothing but performing all the operations over the internet, usually on the mobile devices or laptops and computers. Following are a few features of online banking-

Account Balance on Your Screen

You don’t need to visit the branch or any ATM centre to check your balance. Simply go to your bank’s website, log-in and check your account balance on the screen. Similarly, you can also check your past transactions.

Fund Transfer

When it comes to transfer the money, you don’t need to use the traditional ways such as bank drafts or personal checks when you can use the fastest tool, i.e. internet. With the online banking, you can transfer your funds through online banking fund transfer facility.

Paying the Bills

Many banks provide bill payments section on their web portal. For this, you need to add the name of payers and their account numbers in the ‘Pay Bills’ section.

Set Recurring Payments

There are some things for which the bills are generated for every month. In such cases, you can set a mark for automatic withdrawal from your account. Thus, you not even need to personally log-in in a specific date and pay the bills, the automated system will do it for you.

Apply and Get Cheque Book

Online banking has enabled the easiest way of transferring the money to another account. But sometimes, the traditional way is also helpful. You can order a new chequebook using the online banking services.

Before using the online banking services in the Gulf, the essential thing you must be aware of is the use of the internet. To avail benefits of online banking, you need to register with the bank first. Once the registration process is done, you can choose the modes of operation such as basic banking or thorough transactions including money transfer and payments. After every transaction, you will be provided with a unique confirmation number which will help you see the track in the future. Most of the banks in the middle-east or Gulf countries have almost the same process of registration for online banking. If you are yet to get hands over the internet, you can always ask for the online assistance provided on the bank’s website. Use online banking in the middle-east and speed-up all your banking operations.

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How to choose the correct Banking partner

Sometimes, it is trickier than you think, selecting a reputable bank as a finance partner. You have to think of quite a few things before considering to open an account with a bank. So if you read on, you will find out the four important things to keep in mind when you are choosing a bank.

How to choose the right Bank

Here are key criteria you should consider before narrowing down on a bank, especially when you are in the middle east:

1.    Overall Bank Reputation

The most important thing that you must confirm is that you go to a legitimate large-scale bank. Opening an account with a large and well-known banking and finance organisation is a very safe bet. To make sure of this, you should run an online study of which banks have a good service history as well as a strong financial portfolio. Word-of-mouth and possible a few meetings with people that are existing customers can help you make an informed decision.

2.    Online Banking v Physical Banking

Another important decision for you to make is choosing between a brick and mortar bank with a branch that is near your office and home or one that conducts its services online via a website and a mobile application. If you are tech-savvy, it makes perfect sense to choose a bank with substantial online servicing given that you can access your account at all times and on any day of the week.

3.    Brick-and-mortar branches

Many customers are very comfortable with having a brick-and-mortar branch of their banking partners close to either work or home, if not both. This makes visiting the bank teller and making withdrawals and deposits much simpler and more straightforward.

4.    Fees

One other important thing to check out is the set of rules and regulations for banking fees. There are numerous methods in which banks charge a fee, and you should meet with a relationship manager and figure that out before making your final decision.

Now that you are aware of a few important things to check out before you choose abank in gulf, make a wise choice and an informed decision.