Banks issued 1.29 million bank cards to customers in 7 months
Local banks continued to expand the issuance of bank cards during the first seven months of 2026. Data from the Central Bank of Kuwait showed that approximately 1.29 million new bank cards were issued between January and the end of July, averaging 184,330 cards per month. Debit cards, which are directly linked to the available balances in customers' accounts, accounted for the largest share of new issuances. The total number of debit cards issued by banks over the seven months reached 1.04 million, representing 80.48% of total bank card issuances during the period. In contrast, 251,900 credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) were issued, accounting for a 19.52% share. This means that nearly four out of every five new cards issued by banks since the beginning of the year were debit cards.
Monthly issuance trends revealed significant fluctuations during the period. Banks started the year by issuing 184,800 cards in January, followed by 174,000 in February. Issuances then declined to 142,000 cards in March, the lowest monthly level in the first seven months. Issuances subsequently rose to 187,300 cards in April and 184,100 in May, before surpassing the 200,000-card threshold for the first time during the period, reaching 203,300 cards in June. Issuances peaked at 214,800 cards in July, the highest monthly level recorded during the period.
Comparing the lowest and highest issuance levels, the number of cards issued in July increased by 51.27% compared to March, as monthly issuances rose from 142,000 to 214,800 cards. By card type, debit card issuances stood at 148,700 cards in January, 142,100 in February, and 120,000 in March, before rising to 149,100 in April, 146,800 in May, and 162,700 in June, reaching 169,000 cards in July, the highest monthly level for this category during the period.
Credit card issuances were 36,000 cards in January, 31,900 in February, and 22,000 in March, before increasing to 38,200 in April, 37,300 in May, and 40,600 in June, reaching 45,900 cards in July, also the highest monthly level for credit card issuances since the start of the year.
Alongside new issuances, the total number of active bank cards in the market recorded a net increase of 452,500 cards since the beginning of 2026, rising from 7.57 million cards at the end of December 2025 to 8.02 million cards by the end of July 2026, a growth rate of 5.98%. The largest portion of this net increase came from debit cards, whose number rose from 5.84 million cards at the end of 2025 to 6.21 million cards in July 2026, an increase of 372,000 cards and a growth rate of 6.37%.
In contrast, the number of active credit cards increased from 1.727 million to 1.8 million cards over the same period, a net increase of 80,500 cards and a growth rate of 4.66%.
Consequently, by the end of July, debit cards accounted for 77.46% of the total active bank cards in Kuwait, compared to 22.54% for credit cards, reflecting the continued dominance of cards directly linked to available account balances in the structure of the local bank card market.
