Kuwait – 24 November 2016: Gulf Bank is pleased to announce that it has been recognized for the ‘Internet and Mobile Security Technology Implementation of the Year in the Middle East’ by The Asian Banker, one of Asia’s leading consulting companies in financial services research, benchmarking and intelligence. Gulf Bank received the award at a ceremony following the ‘Future of Finance Middle East and Africa Dialogue’ at the Ritz Carlton DIFC Hotel in Dubai.

Commenting on the award Mr. Vikram Issar, General Manager for Consumer Banking at Gulf Bank, said: “Gulf Bank is proud to be the recipient of this prestigious award recognizing the Bank’s commitment to providing the highest standard of financial services and innovation to better serve our valued customers. We are particularly proud that Gulf Bank was selected for this award from all the applicants across the Middle East and North Africa region.”

Mr. Issar continued by saying: “When we were designing our mobile banking application and updating our online banking platform, we used global best practices and the latest technology to ensure that they would be more flexible, easier to use, and include a wider range of banking services. With our ‘Blinking to Bank’ biometric mobile app and online banking, customers can bank anytime, from anywhere in the world, and perform any number of transaction safely and securely, never being more than three clicks away from what they want to do. These new digital offerings are demonstrative of our commitment to delivering transformative products and services for our customers.”

All banks and non-bank financial institutions (including insurance companies, brokerages, credit companies and finance companies) with operations in the Middle East and Africa region were eligible to make a submission, as were technology firms and consulting firms that have completed specific implementation projects with such institutions.The entrants for the Internet and Mobile Security Technology award were assessed based on the ability to protect the financial information of its users, while keeping the platform user-friendly. The application must demonstrate they have robust encryption technology in place to prevent unauthorized access while also applying measures to detect suspicious behavior that is suggestive of fraud.

Prior to its selection, Gulf Bank was carefully assessed by a panel of industry experts and judges across a stringent set of criteria to determine the Bank’s overall performance and services compared to other local banking competitors. The selection process began in August and finished in October, and involved a team of researchers working in tandem. The initial selection is through a survey and desk research done by the research team at the Asian Banker. The identified candidates are then subject to further scrutiny though interviews and their names are put into a poll that is distributed to The Asian Banker’s 38,000 readers. After the results of the poll and the research results have been compiled, a short-list of candidates is then submitted for review by the international board of advisors for a final evaluation and recommendation of the candidate who should receive the award. The exemplary implementations are subsequently documented and published as research noted in the Risk and Regulation Working Group, the Asian Banker’s repository of best practices in the industry.

To learn more about any of Gulf Bank’s awards, products and services, visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805, log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, or visit its social media channels.