Press Releases

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced today, Monday 5th of January 2026, the launch of the 2nd version of Kuwait National Payments System, focusing on promoting competitiveness of the financial services in the banking sector, strengthening the national economy, and consolidating the role of the State of Kuwait as an active center in the financial service sector.

This came in a press statement by CBK which indicated that The Kuwait Automated Clearing House (KACH) System had been launched, representing a strategic step towards the development of the payment systems infrastructure in Kuwait. KACH is geared to promote operational efficiency and enhance speed and accuracy in processing low-value financial transactions among customers of local banks.

KACH System functions as a unified platform to execute quick, reliable, low-value and repetitive financial transactions among participating banks for customers of the local banks. The system has the ability to transmit financial transactions around the clock, even during the public holidays, in simplified and secure manner.

In addition, KACH System produces the final net settlements to the participating banks automatically after the end of the clearing session to the Kuwait's Automated Settlement System for Inter-Participant Payments (KASSIP), to be reflecting in the accounts of participating banks.

KACH System has a high level of security features, as it relies on the secure closed network (CBK-NET) based on virtual private network technology (VPN) which is the accepted communication channel between the System and participating banks’ systems, and provides a secure encrypted environment for exchanging payment messages, in addition to the high speed in settling payment transactions and the low cost of exchanging financial messages. The system also complies, in exchanging the financial transactions, with the international standard ISO 20022, and allows the automated and instant transfer of financial data via Straight Through Processing.

It’s worth noting that the launch of KACH System is an important addition to the infrastructure of the national payment systems in the State of Kuwait, alongside the existing systems and those to be launched in the coming stages of the 2nd version of Kuwait National Payments System, including the “Kuwait Dispute Management System”, the “Kuwait Wages Protection System” and the “Kuwait Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment System”.

CBK concluded its statement by emphasizing that the launch of KACH System underscores its ongoing efforts to develop the infrastructure of payment systems in the State of Kuwait for enhancing the stability in the banking sector, raising operational efficiency, modernizing the e-payment service, and achieving tangible benefits for individuals and institutions in both public and private sectors, as well as banks operating in the State of Kuwait.