National Bank of Kuwait Partners with PayPal after Recording $74 Billion H1 Profits

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has partnered with PayPal to ensure its credit cardholders have access to secure online shopping.

NBK credit card holders can create a PayPal account through the NBK online banking website and immediately start using PayPal to shop through the millions of websites worldwide that accept payments through the portal.

It is predicted that the Middle East’s e-commerce market could be worth $15 billion by 2015, up from just $5 billion in 2011.

The news from NBK comes after it recorded H1 profits of $74.1 billion compared to $53.9 billion in the same period last year, a growth of 38 percent.

Total assets at the bank increased by 19 percent year-to-date to $9.235 billion at the end of June compared to $7.745 billion at the turn of the year.

Chief Executive Officer Isam Al-Sager said the results reflect the success of the NBK’s regional expansion strategy which has been delivered via a culture of prudence and strict risk assessment management policies.

The results have come despite challenging conditions in both local and regional markets.

NBK has been present in Bahrain since 1977 and enjoys strong and historical relationships with the major Bahraini and international companies. NBK Group has the widest banking presence with around 170 branches worldwide.

Its international presence spans many of the world’s leading financial centres including London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Singapore, as well as China (Shanghai). Regional coverage extends to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey.