KFH records digital and SME wins

Kuwait Finance House has paired sharia-compliant business support with high-volume digital channels, linking regional SME banking with everyday digital use

SME banking across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is becoming more operational. Access to finance remains central, but smaller companies also need banks to support payments, servicing, advisory needs and cashflow management. For Islamic banks, that support has to work within sharia-compliant structures without adding friction to already stretched businesses.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has addressed this through a proposition that combines Islamic business banking, entrepreneurship support, financial education and digital access. Its SME approach includes sharia-compliant solutions for smaller companies and entrepreneurs, as well as partnership-led support designed to help businesses improve capability and prepare for growth.

The bank’s work with the UN Development Programme on sustainable growth pathways for SMEs and entrepreneurs added a development element to the proposition. It positioned SME banking around advisory support and capability building as well as finance, reflecting the wider role banks are expected to play in helping smaller companies become more resilient and better managed.

Greater reach

KFH’s digital platform has given the proposition greater reach. The bank reported more than 600 million digital transactions in 2025 and more than 330 digital services and products. Its channels include KFHOnline, KFH Go smart branches, ATMs, KFH Pay services, WAMD instant payments, virtual card issuance and digital account opening.

The activity was spread across the areas that matter most to regular banking use: payments, cards, transfers, account services and customer servicing. For business owners, those functions can determine whether digital banking is a useful operating channel or simply an alternative front end to branch-led processes.

KFHOnline was also upgraded with a redesigned interface, personalised product displays, clearer customer profile and benefit visibility, instant digital card issuance, and adjustable ATM card limits. The bank reported 5.5 million self-service transactions and 2.6 million calls handled in 2025, pointing to wider use across assisted and self-service channels.

Digital bank

KFH has also extended its digital proposition through Tam, its fully sharia-compliant digital bank in Kuwait. Launched at the end of 2023, Tam targets a younger, mobile-first customer base through real-time onboarding, virtual card issuance, card personalisation, rewards and a more informal user interface. It adds a segment-specific digital strand to KFH’s wider Islamic banking model.

The bank’s receipt of the Kuwait digital bank award rested on that scale of adoption and service depth. Its relevance to the regional SME win is practical. The same digital infrastructure that supports KFH’s retail and customer service activity also gives the bank a stronger platform for SME access, servicing and day-to-day business banking.

The combined result is a case for Islamic banking built around use, not only product range. KFH’s regional SME win reflects its support for entrepreneurs and smaller firms through sharia-compliant banking and capability building. Its Kuwait digital-bank win shows the scale and maturity of the channels behind that support.

For Islamic banks, this is becoming a more important competitive line. Customers and businesses still expect compliance with sharia principles, but they also expect speed, access and practical tools. KFH’s double win shows how those expectations are moving closer together, with SME support and digital banking becoming part of the same service.