7% decline in paper checks with the advancement of digital channels

Paper checks continue to maintain a share of transactions despite the digital boom achieved by the banking sector, but they are gradually declining, having proven the high efficiency of digital channels in terms of speed and accuracy.

The number of paper checks submitted to banks declined by 10.7 percent during the first half of this year, dropping from 1.95 million checks in the first half of 2025 to 1.74 million in the first half of 2026.

Regarding the value of these checks, it decreased by 913 million Kuwaiti dinars, a drop of 7.1 percent, falling from 12.9 billion dinars in the first half of 2025 to 11.989 billion dinars. Consequently, the number of customers also declined by 16.46 percent, amounting to approximately 9,016 customers, decreasing from 55,027 in the first half of 2025 to 45,966 in the first half of 2026.

However, the number of returned checks rose by 11.2 percent, primarily due to insufficient funds, increasing from 2,152 in the corresponding period of 2025 to 2,394 in the first half of this year.

The value of returned checks due to insufficient funds reached 48.8 million dinars, compared to 22.8 million for the first half of 2025.

Additionally, accounts closed due to insufficient funds rose to 390, an increase of 18.9 percent from 328 accounts, involving 1,158 checks in the first half of this year valued at 8.1 million dinars, compared to 1,009 accounts in the corresponding period of 2025 valued at 12.2 million dinars. However, the value has declined by 34.4 percent from the beginning of this year through the end of June.