Press Releases

H.E. the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel, who is also the current chairman of the Committee of the GCC Governors of Monetary Agencies and Central Banks, said that in line with the enduring coordination among GCC monetary agencies and central banks and pursuant to the resolution of the Committee of Governors passed in its 59th meeting held in the State of Kuwait during 11-12 March 2014, POS Services through the debit cards issued by the banks operating in GCC countries shall be launched on May 1st, 2014 initially within Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait and State of Qatar, while the other GCC countries will join in a later stage once their systems become ready to fulfill service requirements.

This service will facilitate using the debit cards issued from participating countries in POSs in any of these countries with the same terms and benefits applicable to use of POS service in the issuing country. Funds settlement of all the GCC POS purchases will only be maintained within the GCC monetary agencies and central banks directly in GCC currencies to ensure timeliness and accuracy of settlements, he added.

Dr. Al-Hashel also mentioned that GCC monetary agencies and central banks sought to launch this service to supplement GCC Network established in 1997, where ATM was the first service provided to nationals and residents in GCC countries. This launch is the fruit of intensive and deliberate studies conducted by a joint team of experts and specialists represented by all GCC monetary agencies, central banks and linkage networks to realize the desired benefits for all customers, stakeholders and beneficiaries.

He concluded that GCC debit card service will be governed by legal and technical rules and regulations approved by GCC monetary agencies and central banks, which shall contribute to protecting the rights and privacy of stakeholders and beneficiaries.