Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the world’s leading Islamic financial institution and Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, have announced the launch of a ‘Mobile Wallet Payment Service’ for the bank’s Mastercard credit and prepaid cardholders.

Group Chief Retail and Private Banking Officer at KFH, Waleed Mandani said that KFH is the first bank in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region to launch a mobile wallet based on the MDES platform.

He added, during his speech at a press conference held to unveil the service, that the innovative ‘KFH Wallet’ service is powered by the Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES), a revolutionary platform that helps transform any connected device into a commerce device to conveniently make and receive payments. By replacing card numbers with a digital token unique to the mobile device, MDES creates EMV-like security for every transaction, giving cardholders peace of mind wherever they tap for payments.

Mandani indicated that the new service will enable KFH customers to pay for their purchases by simply tapping their smart phones at Point of Sale (POS) terminals equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.  Customers holding KFH Mastercard credit or prepaid cards can easily add their card details on the KFH Wallet mobile application and activate their cards through a secured authentication process. After loading their cards on the app, customers can safely use the service to make payments at all NFC-enabled POS terminals in Kuwait and abroad.

“As part of its commitment to continuously enhancing the customer experience, KFH remains dedicated to utilizing technology in a way that optimally meets their evolving needs, especially as they become more and more digitally savvy. KFH will continue to update and improve its technological service offerings in an effort to become the best and most technologically-advanced bank in the region, using the highest and most advanced tools and developments in both banking and innovation,” he continued.

“The service is similar to Apple Pay and Samsung Pay and other mobile payment services that are currently being introduced by banks around the globe. The transactions, in addition to being EMV-compliant, will have an additional layer of security that requires users to enter a PIN or a fingerprint ID before completing the transaction,” he concluded.

“The ‘KFH Wallet Service’ is based on our advanced tokenization service, which is used by leading banks worldwide for their mobile payment solutions through the Mastercard Digital Enablement Service. The service lets KFH customers replace their wallets with their smartphones, allowing them to make fast and secure in-app payments everywhere they see the ‘contactless’ symbol, whether at home or abroad,” said Pankaj Kathuria, Area Business Head, Northern Gulf, Mastercard.