The Central Bank of Kuwait called on providers of payment and cash services and operators of electronic payment systems, when applying for registration in the service providers’ registry, to provide it with documents proving the identity of the partner, whether an individual or a legal entity, and to provide it with the person or persons who exercise actual control over the company in order to identify the actual beneficiary.
This came in a circular issued by Basil Al-Haroun, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, bearing the number “2/RK/558/2024” addressed to all providers of electronic payment services, providers of electronic money services, and providers of electronic payment systems’ operation services, in which he stressed the need for companies to obtain prior approval from the “Central Bank” in the event of a change in the company’s ownership structure and the entry of new partners.
The circular stipulated that these companies must, when applying for registration in the service providers’ registry, provide the “Central Bank” with 3 types of documents and papers as follows:
- Documents proving the identity of the partner (whether an individual or a legal entity), and provide us with the person (persons) who exercise actual control over the company in order to identify the actual beneficiary.
- A certificate issued by the Criminal Enforcement Prosecution Office at the Ministry of Justice for the partners, including members of the Board of Directors, including the final judgments issued against them, if any, taking into account that the period from the date of issuance of the certificate until the date of submitting the application to the Central Bank does not exceed one month.
- Documents supporting the existence of professional competence and previous experience for all or some of the partners in the field of work in one of the institutions or companies of a banking, financial or technical nature.
Moreover, The Central Bank based its circular on Article 12 of the Instructions for Regulating Electronic Payment of Money issued on 5/14/2023, which stipulates that the registration application be submitted to the Central Bank in accordance with the form approved by it, fulfilling the required documents and attachments.
The circular indicated that the Central Bank may request additional information or data at any stage of submitting the application, and the applicant must provide the Central Bank with what it requests within 30 days from the date of his request or according to the period it estimates for that.
In case of failure, the Central Bank may reject the application if such information is not provided, and to Article 27 of the aforementioned instructions, which stipulates that service providers of the activity must comply with the requirements of combating money laundering and terrorist financing included in the requirements of the provisions of Law No. 106 of 2013, regarding combating money laundering and terrorist financing operations and its executive regulations and all relevant ministerial decisions, and the requirements included in the international standards issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and any instructions issued by the Central Bank or relevant regulatory authorities.
In another context, Dr. Muhammad Al-Khamis, Acting Executive Director of the Supervision Sector, issued a circular to the same sectors, which stipulated that the Central Bank must be notified in the event that the company’s general manager is on a work mission or leave.
This came in a circular bearing No. (2/RK/557/2024) to all electronic payment service providers, electronic money service providers, and electronic payment system operating service providers regarding assigning the tasks and duties of company managers in their absence.
The Central Bank indicated in the circular that within the framework of regulating the workflow in these companies in line with relevant laws and instructions, and in light of what was observed of some company managers traveling abroad on business missions or special vacations without notifying the Central Bank of Kuwait about this.
The Central Bank stressed the necessity of taking into account notifying them in the event that the company’s general manager is on a business mission or vacation, taking into account assigning his tasks and duties to one of his deputies or assistants or those in their position who have been approved to occupy their positions within the framework of what is stipulated in the provisions of Article 36 of the Instructions for Regulating Electronic Payment of Money issued in May 2023, in accordance with the systems and regulations in force in your company.
