KUWAIT: A senior official at Visa has praised Kuwait’s significant advancements in establishing a secure digital ecosystem, highlighting the country’s steady progress in digital payment infrastructure and cybersecurity. In an exclusive interview with KUNA, Charles Lobo, Senior Vice President and Regional Risk Officer for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) at Visa, emphasized that Kuwait’s digital payment environment has been significantly strengthened by stringent regulatory frameworks set by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).

Lobo described Kuwait’s digital infrastructure as robust and resilient, fostering consumer trust in electronic transactions and aligning with global best practices. He affirmed that the CBK’s digital transformation strategy is a cornerstone of the country’s broader sustainable development agenda, particularly in driving a future-ready digital economy. Highlighting findings from Visa’s “Stay Secure” study, Lobo noted that 80 percent of consumers in Kuwait expressed trust in digital payments and showed a strong inclination to continue using them.

He revealed that Kuwait leads the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in digital payment adoption, with a 92 percent usage rate and an impressive 99 percent of payments made through contactless methods. “This high adoption rate reflects consumer confidence, growing retail activity, and Kuwait’s commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive digital financial environment,” he stated.

Lobo further commended the strong collaboration between public and private sectors in advancing digital payments, saying such cooperation is critical to maintaining Kuwait’s leadership in financial technology. According to the study, 94 percent of consumers in Kuwait have taken active steps to secure their digital transactions, while over half refuse to transfer money on behalf of others via email or share their card or account details. Additionally, 40 percent of consumers have enabled SMS notifications to monitor suspicious activities.

Despite rising awareness, challenges remain. Lobo pointed out that 44 percent of survey respondents had experienced fraud, with 14 percent encountering such incidents more than once. He noted that 91 percent of Kuwaiti consumers feel secure when transactions require authentication codes, and 55 percent value the presence of visible security icons. Visa, Lobo said, continues to work closely with the Kuwaiti government, CBK, local banks, and fintech companies to enhance security protocols and drive public awareness campaigns aimed at fraud prevention. He highlighted increasing collaboration with banks in adopting artificial intelligence technologies to further strengthen payment security, particularly in the retail sector. He also reaffirmed Visa’s support for touchless payments and digital wallets.

Lobo disclosed that Visa has invested over $10 billion globally in cybersecurity over the past five years. A key part of Visa’s security infrastructure is CyberSource, a platform founded in 1994 and acquired by Visa in 2010 for $2 billion. CyberSource, he explained, enables secure transaction processing globally and has prevented an estimated $650 million in fraud while preserving over $40 billion in electronic commerce revenues. “Visa remains committed to empowering Kuwait’s digital economy through innovation, collaboration, and investment in next-generation security solutions,” Lobo concluded. — KUNA