🇰🇼 Sending to Kuwait¶
KW · KWT · +965 · GCC
FATF grey list IBAN required SWIFT BIC required
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FATF Increased Monitoring
This jurisdiction is on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. FATF does not call for enhanced due diligence on that basis, but asks institutions to take the listing into account in their risk analysis.
Required information¶
For your end users
Double-check the beneficiary's full name (no initials), account number, and bank SWIFT/BIC against what their bank has on file. International wires can take 1-5 business days and may be delayed by sanctions screening.
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-20. Reference material only.
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Currency
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Typical settlement
1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review.
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SWIFT BIC
Required
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Local clearing
KASSIP / RTGS (CBK)
Account format¶
How beneficiary account numbers are structured for Kuwait. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format tier | IBAN required |
| Length | 30 characters (KW + 28) |
| Validation regex | ^KW[0-9]{2}[A-Z]{4}[0-9A-Za-z]{22}$ |
| Example | KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101 |
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for Kuwait.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| None | Optional |
| Local clearing | KASSIP / RTGS (CBK) |
Purpose of payment¶
Put the country's own code in the regulatory reporting (<RgltryRptg><Dtls>) of the ISO 20022 wire-creation request.
Requirement: Mandatory (confirmed)
GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.
Non-standard element
For Kuwait, the purpose is placed in <RgltryRptg> (regulatory reporting), not the standard <Purp> element.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code format | 4-character Purpose of Payment code (NBK) |
| Source | ↗ CBK Cross-Border Purpose of Payments Codes |
Available codes:
4-character codes administered by NBK per Central Bank of Kuwait regulations.
Remittance info¶
Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.
Standard remittance-info field - clearly identify the economic reason for the payment.
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | KWD, USD |
| Typical settlement | 1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
Missing 4-character NBK PoP code (mandatory for FX).
Beneficiary name mismatch.
Sanctions or compliance hold.
Validate before you send¶
Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.
IBAN check
Format: ^KW[0-9]{2}[A-Z]{4}[0-9A-Za-z]{22}$ · MOD-97 (ISO 13616) check digit verified locally.
BIC lookup
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References¶
First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.
Disclaimer
These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.
Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.
For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.
Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.