As part of National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK) continued efforts to better serve NBK shareholders and provide them with the most convenient and easiest options to receive their cash dividend distributions, NBK announced that it offers e-Dividends service to its shareholder, enabling NBK Online Banking customers to receive their dividends payments directly into their bank accounts.

NBK is the first Kuwaiti bank to offer e-Dividend service to its shareholders in cooperation with Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC).

Individual shareholders may register through NBK Online Banking service to have their cash dividends directly deposited into their bank accounts, while corporate shareholders may register through NBK Corporate Online Banking (Watani Online Corporate “WOLC”) to utilize this convenient service offered by NBK, the first bank to participate in this service offered by KCC.

Eligible shareholders entitled to receive the cash dividend distributions who were holding the bank’s shares as of March 23rd and were registered in KCC’s records have started to receive the proceeds since Monday, March 30.

Mohammed Al-Khorafi, General Manager- Operations Group at NBK said: “In keeping up with our continued efforts to better serve NBK shareholders and customers, we have introduced the e-Dividends service that allows shareholders to quickly and easily receive the proceeds directly into their bank accounts once they sign up for the service.

Al- Khorafi highlighted that NBK’s values the health and safety of its clients and shareholders as one of its main priorities, especially through these unprecedented times we are going through due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The new service provides an easy and convenient option to have the cash dividends deposited into NBK customers’ bank accounts through following few simple and easy steps to register for the service without the need to step foot in the bank branch.

“The e-Dividends service is a step forward in our digital transformation journey, as we strive to expand on our convenient online banking services and products through various electronic channels to reach different stakeholders including our customers and shareholders. This service is conveniently offered through NBK Online and NBK Mobile service, as we continue to lead the way in delivering first-in-class digital experience in the local and regional markets.” Al- Khorafi added.

In 2016, KCC launched electronic transfers as an optional service. NBK was the first bank in Kuwait to provide the service to its clients and shareholders as soon as it was introduced. KCC, in cooperation with banks, continued to develop the service to successfully cover all banks and a large segment of dividend-paying companies. This year, the services became mandatory to all companies registered with KCC so that payments would be paid electronically going forward.

Meanwhile, Mr. Khaldoun Al-Tabtabaie, CEO, Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC) said: “We highly value NBK’s role in supporting our digital transformation efforts and we appreciate the strategic cooperation that ties us with such a leading financial institution.”

“Digital transformation is a main pillar of KCC’s corporate strategy as we move forward with the implementation all of our strategic plans aimed at providing the best quality in investor services. We will continue to cooperate with our partners in the Kuwaiti capital market to optimize all the services we offer.” Al-Tabtabaie added.

“We encourage all investors to sing up for the service at their earliest convenience through following the simple steps offered through the digital channels provided by their banks. The process requires a one-time registration to sign up for the service that allows shareholders to have their cash dividends deposited directly by the companies through KCC.” Al-Tabtabaie concluded.

NBK held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 7, 2020 and approved the Board of Directors’ recommendation to distribute 35% cash dividends to shareholders (equivalent to 35 fils per share) for FY2019.

Individual shareholders may register for the e-Dividend service through the online service through NBK online Service available on the bank’s website https://online.nbk.com.kw/WOLWebUI/PMlogin.aspx

Corporate shareholders may register for the e-Dividend service through NBK Corporate Online Banking service (Watani Online Corporate) available on the bank’s website https://wolcorp.nbk.com/wolcotp/, alternatively, an email may be sent to WOLCUnit@nbk.com to assist corporate clients to sign up for the service.