Banking Law and Open Finance Data Sharing Frameworks — Kuwait

1. Introduction

Open finance refers to a regulatory and technological system in which customers can authorize financial institutions to share specified financial data securely with approved third parties.

It is broader than open banking.

Open banking normally concentrates on information held by banks, particularly:

payment accounts;

account balances;

transaction histories; and

payment initiation.

Open finance can potentially extend the same principle to a wider range of financial information, including:

credit;

financing;

investments;

insurance;

pensions;

savings products;

electronic wallets; and

other financial services.

Kuwait is moving toward this model primarily through the Central Bank of Kuwait's Open Banking Project.

In June 2025, the CBK issued a draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework for consultation. The framework is intended to regulate open-banking activities through legal, security, technical and operational standards.

The core principle announced by the CBK is that local banks may share customer information with CBK-licensed Open Banking Service Providers securely and with the customer's explicit approval.

This combination of:

customer control + regulated third parties + secure APIs + regulatory supervision

forms the foundation from which a broader Kuwaiti open-finance ecosystem could develop.

2. Kuwait Does Not Yet Have a Single Comprehensive Open Finance Act

An important distinction must be made.

Kuwait does not presently have one standalone statute entitled an Open Finance Law creating an economy-wide data-sharing right covering every financial sector.

Instead, the framework is developing through several interconnected regimes:

Law No. 32 of 1968 concerning Currency, the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Organisation of Banking Business;

Law No. 20 of 2014 concerning Electronic Transactions;

Law No. 9 of 2019 concerning the Regulation of Credit Information Exchange;

CBK customer-protection requirements;

CBK cybersecurity requirements;

the 2023 Instructions for Regulating the Electronic Payment of Funds;

the CBK Regulatory Sandbox;

banking confidentiality requirements; and

the developing Open Banking Regulatory Framework.

Consequently, open-finance data sharing must be reconciled with existing confidentiality, cybersecurity and customer-protection obligations.

3. Development of Open Banking in Kuwait

Kuwait's regulatory development has occurred gradually.

In 2022, the CBK approved testing of a first-of-its-kind open-banking product within its Regulatory Sandbox.

The service was tested using volunteer customers and involved:

analysis of transactions conducted through different bank accounts; and

electronic-payment services.

The CBK stated that it had conducted a broad study of open banking and concluded that Kuwait required both:

an Open Banking Regulatory Framework

and

Application Programming Interface specifications.

Working groups involving CBK specialists and Kuwaiti banks were established to support the initiative.

4. Draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework

A major development occurred on 4 June 2025, when the CBK announced the draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework.

The project is designed to establish:

regulatory requirements;

security requirements;

technical standards; and

operational standards.

The objective is to allow Kuwaiti banks and FinTech companies to provide regulated open-banking services.

The CBK indicated that the finalized system would be introduced through a phased approach following sufficient testing.

This is important because Kuwait's framework is therefore regulatory and controlled rather than based upon unrestricted access to banking databases.

5. Customer Consent Is Central

The most important data-sharing principle is customer authorization.

The CBK's announced framework states that local banks will be able to share customer data with licensed Open Banking Service Providers securely and with the customer's explicit approval.

Therefore:

bank possession of data ≠ unrestricted permission to distribute data.

Open banking changes the traditional confidentiality model by creating a regulated mechanism through which the customer can authorize specified information to move to another provider.

Consent therefore operates as a gateway.

Without the legally required authorization or another lawful basis, traditional banking confidentiality obligations continue to apply.

6. Open Banking Service Providers

Data is not intended to be made available indiscriminately to any technology company.

The CBK's announced model contemplates Open Banking Service Providers licensed by the CBK.

Regulatory control over third-party providers is essential because they may receive highly sensitive information concerning:

account balances;

transaction histories;

spending patterns;

payment information; and

financial behavior.

Licensing enables the CBK to impose requirements concerning security, governance, operations and customer protection.

7. Application Programming Interfaces

The technological foundation of modern open banking is the Application Programming Interface (API).

An API creates a controlled mechanism through which one authorized system can request specified information from another system.

For example:

Customer

↓

authorizes Provider X

↓

Provider X sends standardized API request

↓

Bank verifies authorization

↓

Bank securely returns permitted information

↓

Provider X supplies the requested financial service

This is significantly safer than requiring customers to provide their internet-banking usernames and passwords to third-party applications.

The CBK identified API specifications as an important part of Kuwait's open-banking development as early as 2022.

8. Data That May Support Open Banking Services

The CBK has identified several potential uses of shared banking information.

These include services enabling customers to:

obtain consolidated information about accounts held at different local banks;

track expenditure;

receive spending suggestions;

develop saving plans;

accelerate processes involving loans;

facilitate letters of guarantee;

compare banking products; and

choose financial services matching their requirements.

The framework therefore treats customer data as capable of supporting both competition and financial innovation.

9. Payment Initiation

Open banking involves more than merely viewing information.

The CBK has also identified services involving the creation of payment orders directly from bank accounts.

Potential examples include:

bill payments;

payments to online stores;

person-to-person payments;

domestic payments;

cross-border payments;

standing orders; and

future-dated payments.

This means the framework potentially encompasses both:

Account Information Services

and

Payment Initiation Services.

The security implications of payment initiation are particularly significant because a compromised service could affect not merely confidentiality but actual customer funds.

10. Banking Secrecy

Kuwaiti banking law traditionally gives substantial importance to customer confidentiality.

CBK customer-protection instructions require banks to protect customer data and maintain its secrecy.

Banks must establish appropriate organizational mechanisms governing:

why information is collected;

how information is processed;

how confidentiality is maintained; and

how third parties handling information protect it.

Importantly, a bank's responsibility does not necessarily end merely because information is held by a third party assisting the bank.

This principle becomes especially important in open-finance ecosystems where numerous technology providers may process financial information.

11. Data Sharing Versus Banking Confidentiality

Open banking does not abolish banking secrecy.

Instead, the two concepts must operate together.

The traditional model is:

Customer data → Bank → Confidentiality

The open-banking model becomes:

Customer data → Bank

↓

explicit customer authorization

↓

regulated secure channel

↓

licensed service provider

↓

specified permitted purpose

The crucial legal issue is therefore not whether customer information can ever leave the bank.

It is whether disclosure occurs under a legally recognized and properly controlled mechanism.

12. Purpose Limitation

A sound open-finance framework requires data to be used for the purpose for which access was authorized.

For example, suppose a customer authorizes a FinTech application to analyze transaction history for budgeting purposes.

That authorization should not automatically be treated as unlimited permission for unrelated exploitation of the customer's financial information.

Purpose limitation protects customer autonomy.

It also reduces the risk that open banking becomes a mechanism for uncontrolled commercialization of confidential financial behavior.

13. Data Minimization

Open-finance systems should also follow a principle of proportional access.

A provider should receive the information reasonably necessary for the service being supplied.

For example, a budgeting application may require transaction history.

That does not necessarily mean it should receive every piece of customer information held by the bank.

This produces an important design principle:

required service → necessary data → authorized access

rather than:

customer consent → unlimited financial profile.

14. Customer Control

Customer control is one of the principal justifications for open finance.

Traditionally, a customer's financial information can become fragmented across institutions.

A customer might have:

salary account at Bank A;

savings at Bank B;

credit card at Bank C; and

financing at Bank D.

Open banking can allow the customer to authorize a service to consolidate permitted information.

This can potentially provide a more complete view of personal finances.

A mature open-finance system could eventually extend that principle beyond bank accounts.

15. Cybersecurity

Financial data sharing creates substantial cybersecurity risks.

Potential threats include:

stolen API credentials;

compromised third-party providers;

unauthorized data access;

account takeover;

phishing;

malicious applications;

API attacks;

data interception; and

fraudulent payment initiation.

Consequently, open banking cannot function safely without cybersecurity requirements.

The CBK has expressly stated that the developing framework includes security and technical standards.

Kuwait's wider electronic-payment regulations likewise impose cybersecurity obligations on regulated electronic-payment providers.

16. Authentication

Secure data sharing requires reliable identification of:

the customer;

the bank;

the third-party provider; and

the scope of the customer's authorization.

Authentication can involve mechanisms such as:

passwords;

OTPs;

trusted devices;

cryptographic credentials;

certificates; and

biometric authentication.

The exact mechanism depends upon applicable CBK technical requirements.

The objective is to prevent a criminal from impersonating either the customer or an authorized provider.

17. API Security

API security should include controls capable of protecting:

confidentiality;

integrity;

authentication;

authorization; and

availability.

A secure architecture should prevent an authorized provider for Customer A from retrieving Customer B's data.

Similarly, permission to retrieve account information should not automatically confer authority to initiate payments.

The technical architecture therefore needs to distinguish different permissions.

18. Electronic Transactions Law

Law No. 20 of 2014 concerning Electronic Transactions is another important component.

The law provides the broader legal framework for electronic transactions and gives the CBK significant authority concerning electronic payment transactions.

The CBK relies on that statutory mandate for its regulation and oversight of electronic-payment activity.

Open banking that includes payment initiation therefore intersects directly with Kuwait's electronic-payment regulatory framework.

19. 2023 Electronic Payment Instructions

In May 2023, the CBK updated its Instructions for Regulating the Electronic Payment of Funds.

These requirements address matters including:

licensing;

governance;

risk management;

AML/CFT;

cybersecurity;

business continuity; and

customer protection.

Open-banking providers performing regulated payment activities may therefore interact with the wider electronic-payment regulatory system.

The precise obligations depend upon the service being performed and the regulatory classification of the provider.

20. Credit Information Sharing

Open finance should also be distinguished from Kuwait's existing credit-information-sharing regime.

Kuwait has Law No. 9 of 2019 concerning the Regulation of Credit Information Exchange.

The framework regulates credit-information companies and is supplemented by implementing and CBK regulatory requirements.

Credit information sharing serves purposes such as evaluating creditworthiness.

Open banking, by comparison, provides a customer-authorized mechanism for specified banking information and services.

Therefore:

credit-information exchange ≠ open banking

although both involve regulated movement of financial data.

21. Article 82 of the CBK Law

Article 82 of Law No. 32 of 1968 is also important in understanding regulated banking information.

It authorizes the CBK to require banks to submit statements, information and statistical data necessary for its functions.

Banks must provide information requested under the system established by the CBK.

The information remains confidential, subject to statutory exceptions including certain aggregated statistical information and exchanges with other central banks or banking supervisory authorities for consolidated supervision.

Article 82 demonstrates a broader principle:

financial data sharing in Kuwait is controlled by legal purpose, regulatory authority and confidentiality requirements.

22. Regulatory Sandbox

The CBK's Regulatory Sandbox has played an important role in Kuwait's open-banking development.

Instead of permitting an untested financial-data-sharing model to enter the entire market immediately, the CBK allowed an open-banking product to be tested in a controlled environment.

Volunteer customers participated in the test.

This allowed the regulator to examine:

operational functionality;

customer experience;

security;

risks;

payment functionality; and

regulatory requirements.

Sandbox testing therefore provides evidence for developing permanent regulatory standards.

23. Open Banking Versus Open Finance

The distinction can be summarized as follows.

Open Banking

Primarily involves:

bank-account data;

payment information;

transaction history;

account aggregation; and

payment initiation.

Open Finance

Potentially extends to:

investments;

insurance;

pensions;

securities;

broader lending information;

savings;

mortgages;

digital wallets; and

other financial products.

Kuwait's current regulatory development is most accurately characterized as open banking progressing toward a potentially broader open-finance environment, rather than as a completed comprehensive open-finance regime.

24. Cross-Border Data Sharing

Open finance becomes more complicated where data crosses national borders.

Relevant issues can include:

confidentiality;

cybersecurity;

foreign regulatory requirements;

outsourcing;

cloud infrastructure;

supervisory access;

data-location arrangements; and

liability for third-party processors.

A provider should not assume that customer consent alone automatically resolves every regulatory issue concerning international transfer of banking information.

CBK requirements and other applicable Kuwaiti legislation must still be satisfied.

25. Third-Party Risk

Opening banking infrastructure to external providers creates third-party risk.

Banks and regulators therefore need to consider:

provider licensing;

cybersecurity capability;

financial resilience;

governance;

incident reporting;

outsourcing;

access controls;

business continuity; and

termination of access.

The weakest participant in an interconnected financial-data ecosystem can potentially create risk for other participants.

Regulatory oversight of Open Banking Service Providers is therefore central to the CBK model.

26. Revocation of Access

Customer control would be incomplete if consent could be given but never withdrawn.

A robust open-banking architecture should therefore provide mechanisms for managing customer permissions.

Where authorization ends, the provider's continuing access should be addressed according to the applicable regulatory framework.

This creates a lifecycle:

Consent

↓

Authentication

↓

Access

↓

Permitted use

↓

Renewal or revocation

↓

Termination of access

The precise requirements depend upon the final CBK framework and its technical standards.

27. Liability for Unauthorized Data Sharing

Suppose a bank releases customer transaction history to an unauthorized FinTech company.

Potential legal issues could include:

banking confidentiality;

contractual obligations;

CBK customer-protection requirements;

regulatory compliance;

cybersecurity failures;

damages; and

causation.

The bank could not ordinarily justify disclosure merely by stating that its API technically transmitted the information.

The legal authority for disclosure matters just as much as technical functionality.

28. Liability for Third-Party Security Breach

A different problem arises where data is lawfully transferred to a licensed provider but the provider is later hacked.

Relevant questions would include:

Was the provider properly licensed?

Did it comply with cybersecurity requirements?

Was the bank's interface secure?

What information was compromised?

Were appropriate security controls maintained?

Was the incident detected promptly?

Was the customer harmed?

Which party's failure caused the loss?

Open finance therefore requires clear liability allocation between ecosystem participants.

29. Case Law: Important Qualification

There is an important limitation concerning the requested case-law analysis.

Kuwait's dedicated Open Banking Regulatory Framework is very recent. The CBK published the draft framework only in June 2025, following earlier sandbox experimentation.

Consequently, there is not yet a mature body of six published Kuwait Court of Cassation judgments interpreting the final open-banking API framework.

Inventing six “Kuwait open finance cases” would therefore be misleading.

However, at least six established lines of Kuwait Court of Cassation jurisprudence are directly relevant to disputes involving open-finance data sharing.

30. Case-Law Principle 1 – Banking Confidentiality

Kuwaiti banking jurisprudence recognizes confidentiality as a fundamental feature of the bank-customer relationship.

The regulatory framework similarly imposes strong confidentiality obligations upon banks.

Open-finance relevance

A bank cannot treat open banking as permission for unrestricted disclosure.

Data sharing must have a legally valid foundation, such as properly obtained customer authorization within the regulatory framework.

Thus:

Open banking creates controlled access; it does not abolish banking secrecy.

31. Case-Law Principle 2 – Contractual Obligations Bind the Parties

The Kuwait Court of Cassation consistently applies the civil-law principle that a valid contract governs the parties' relationship subject to mandatory law and public policy.

Open-finance relevance

The contractual structure may define:

authorized services;

data-access permissions;

customer responsibilities;

provider responsibilities;

security requirements; and

termination procedures.

However, contractual consent cannot override mandatory CBK requirements.

32. Case-Law Principle 3 – Interpretation of Contracts and Documents

Kuwaiti Court of Cassation jurisprudence gives trial courts authority to interpret contractual documents where interpretation is required, provided that the interpretation remains reasonably supported by their wording and circumstances.

Open-finance relevance

A dispute may require interpretation of:

customer consent;

API permissions;

digital terms;

privacy notices;

provider agreements; and

bank-FinTech contracts.

A general acceptance of an application should not automatically be treated as authorization for every conceivable use of financial information.

The exact wording and scope of authorization matter.

33. Case-Law Principle 4 – Electronic Evidence

Kuwaiti law recognizes electronic transactions and electronic records through Law No. 20 of 2014 and the applicable evidence framework.

Open-finance relevance

An open-banking dispute could depend heavily upon digital evidence such as:

consent timestamps;

API calls;

authentication logs;

access tokens;

permission records;

device information;

transaction logs; and

revocation records.

These records can help determine whether access was genuinely authorized.

34. Case-Law Principle 5 – Burden of Proof

Kuwait Court of Cassation jurisprudence consistently applies the principle that a party asserting a legally significant fact must establish it according to applicable evidence rules.

Open-finance relevance

Suppose a provider claims:

“The customer consented to sharing twelve months of transaction data.”

If the customer denies granting that permission, the evidence concerning consent becomes crucial.

Relevant records could include:

consent screens;

authentication;

timestamps;

permission scopes;

confirmation messages; and

API logs.

A properly designed open-finance architecture should therefore create reliable audit trails.

35. Case-Law Principle 6 – Professional Banking Duty of Care

Kuwaiti Court of Cassation jurisprudence treats banking as specialized professional commercial activity.

Banks are expected to exercise the care appropriate to professional financial institutions.

Open-finance relevance

A bank introducing API-based data sharing should maintain appropriate controls over:

authentication;

authorization;

API security;

customer permissions;

provider access; and

confidential information.

The fact that the service is technologically innovative does not eliminate traditional professional obligations.

36. Case-Law Principle 7 – Fault, Damage and Causation

Kuwaiti civil-liability jurisprudence requires the legally relevant relationship between actionable fault, damage and causation.

Open-finance relevance

Suppose customer information is improperly disclosed.

A regulatory violation may exist.

But a separate civil claim for compensation ordinarily requires analysis of:

wrongful conduct + legally recognized damage + causal relationship.

Therefore, regulatory non-compliance and private damages liability are related but not necessarily identical questions.

37. Case-Law Principle 8 – Expert Evidence

Kuwaiti courts frequently use experts in technically complicated banking and commercial disputes.

The court can rely upon an expert to investigate factual and technical matters while retaining authority over legal questions.

Open-finance relevance

An API dispute could require technical analysis of:

authorization tokens;

server logs;

encryption;

timestamps;

API requests;

data transmitted;

authentication systems; and

cybersecurity controls.

Expert evidence could therefore become especially important in future open-banking litigation.

38. Six Core Case-Law Authorities Applicable to Open Finance

For legal research, the six principal Kuwaiti jurisprudential lines can therefore be summarized accurately as:

1. Kuwait Court of Cassation – banking confidentiality jurisprudence
Customer financial information is protected and cannot be disclosed outside legally recognized circumstances.

2. Kuwait Court of Cassation – contractual obligations jurisprudence
Valid agreements govern the parties subject to mandatory law and public policy.

3. Kuwait Court of Cassation – contractual interpretation jurisprudence
Courts determine the scope and meaning of contractual permissions from their wording and surrounding circumstances.

4. Kuwait Court of Cassation – electronic/documentary evidence jurisprudence
Electronic and documentary records can establish relevant banking transactions and permissions according to applicable evidentiary rules.

5. Kuwait Court of Cassation – burden-of-proof jurisprudence
A party relying upon consent, authorization, performance or breach must establish the relevant facts according to the applicable rules.

6. Kuwait Court of Cassation – professional banking duty jurisprudence
Banks must exercise the care expected of professional financial institutions.

Two further relevant lines are:

7. Fault, damage and causation jurisprudence

and

8. Expert evidence jurisprudence.

These principles are applicable to future open-finance disputes, but they should not be falsely described as eight reported judgments specifically interpreting Kuwait's new Open Banking Regulatory Framework.

39. Example: Account Aggregation

Assume Customer A holds accounts with three Kuwaiti banks.

The customer wants FinTech X to provide a consolidated financial dashboard.

The process might operate as follows:

Customer selects FinTech X

↓

Customer requests account aggregation

↓

Customer provides explicit authorization

↓

FinTech X authenticates itself

↓

Bank authenticates customer authorization

↓

API supplies permitted account information

↓

FinTech X displays consolidated information

The legal framework must ensure that FinTech X receives only information falling within the authorized scope.

If authorization covers transaction history but not payment initiation, FinTech X should not automatically receive authority to transfer funds.

40. Example: Revoked Consent

Suppose Customer A later withdraws authorization.

The ecosystem should be capable of terminating future API access according to the applicable regulatory framework.

An audit trail should ideally establish:

10:00 – consent granted

10:02 – provider authenticated

10:03 – permitted data accessed

14:00 – customer revokes consent

14:01 – access disabled

If the provider subsequently accesses additional information, those records could become central evidence in a regulatory or civil dispute.

41. Example: Unauthorized Payment Initiation

Suppose an Open Banking Service Provider is authorized only to view account information.

A security weakness allows it or an attacker to initiate a KD 3,000 transfer.

Relevant questions include:

What permission had the customer granted?

Was payment initiation authorized?

Did the API properly separate permissions?

Was authentication adequate?

Was the provider compromised?

Did the bank apply required controls?

Which entity's failure caused the transaction?

This demonstrates why permission architecture is as important as initial customer consent.

42. Competition and Innovation

Open banking can potentially increase competition because customers can compare products more easily.

The CBK specifically identified product comparison as one possible benefit of the framework.

New providers may potentially offer:

budgeting services;

financial dashboards;

payment applications;

account aggregation;

financial planning tools; and

innovative lending-related services.

The policy objective is therefore not merely technological modernization.

It also involves greater customer choice and development of Kuwait's financial sector.

43. Customer Protection

Innovation must nevertheless remain subordinate to appropriate customer protection.

A sound Kuwaiti open-finance system should protect customers against:

unauthorized disclosure;

misleading consent processes;

excessive data collection;

cyberattacks;

unauthorized payments;

insecure third-party providers; and

misuse of financial information.

The CBK's wider electronic-payment regulations already emphasize customer protection alongside cybersecurity and risk management.

This philosophy is directly relevant to open banking.

44. Supervisory Access

The CBK itself possesses extensive statutory powers to obtain banking information for supervisory purposes.

Article 82 of the CBK Law permits the regulator to require banks to provide necessary information and statistics.

This should be distinguished from commercial open-finance sharing.

Regulatory sharing occurs because legislation grants supervisory authority.

Open-banking sharing occurs within a customer-authorized regulated service.

Both involve financial data, but their legal bases are fundamentally different.

45. Future Development Toward Open Finance

Kuwait's open-banking initiative could provide infrastructure for a broader open-finance system.

A possible evolution is:

Stage 1 – Bank account information

↓

Stage 2 – Payment initiation

↓

Stage 3 – Broader lending and financial-product information

↓

Stage 4 – Wider financial-sector interoperability

↓

Stage 5 – Mature open-finance ecosystem

Whether Kuwait ultimately adopts this exact path depends upon future CBK rules and wider financial-sector regulation.

It should therefore be treated as a potential regulatory evolution, not as an existing legal entitlement.

46. Overall Legal Position

The Kuwaiti position can be summarized through twelve principles:

Kuwait is developing a regulated Open Banking framework rather than presently operating a single comprehensive Open Finance Act.

The CBK began controlled open-banking experimentation through its Regulatory Sandbox.

In June 2025, the CBK issued a draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework.

The framework is intended to establish regulatory, security, technical and operational standards.

Customer data sharing is based on explicit customer approval.

Data is intended to be shared securely with CBK-licensed Open Banking Service Providers.

APIs provide the technological mechanism for standardized and controlled access.

Open-banking services can include both account-information services and payment initiation.

Banking confidentiality remains important and is not abolished by open banking.

Electronic-payment activities remain subject to the CBK's wider regulatory framework, including the 2023 electronic-payment instructions.

Credit-information exchange under Law No. 9 of 2019 constitutes a separate regulated data-sharing regime.

Future litigation will likely rely heavily upon electronic records, customer-consent evidence, API logs, expert evidence and established Kuwaiti banking-law principles.

Conclusion

Kuwait's approach to open-finance data sharing is best understood as an evolving open-banking framework built on controlled customer-authorized access to financial information.

The Central Bank of Kuwait has moved progressively from research and working groups to Regulatory Sandbox testing and, in June 2025, publication of a draft Open Banking Regulatory Framework.

The model announced by the CBK permits local banks to share customer data securely with licensed Open Banking Service Providers where the customer gives explicit approval. It is intended to support account aggregation, expenditure analysis, saving tools, product comparison, loan-related services and payment initiation.

However, open banking does not eliminate Kuwait's traditional rules concerning banking confidentiality, customer protection, cybersecurity and regulatory supervision. Instead, it creates a controlled exception or mechanism through which information can move when legally authorized.

The broader legal environment includes Law No. 32 of 1968, Law No. 20 of 2014, Law No. 9 of 2019 concerning credit-information exchange, CBK customer-protection requirements and the 2023 Instructions for Regulating the Electronic Payment of Funds.

For future disputes, six particularly important Kuwait Court of Cassation jurisprudential areas are:

banking confidentiality; contractual obligations; contractual interpretation; electronic and documentary evidence; burden of proof; and professional banking duties.

Additional principles concerning fault, causation and expert evidence will also be important.

Because Kuwait's dedicated Open Banking Regulatory Framework is recent and was published in draft form in 2025, it would be inaccurate to invent six Court of Cassation judgments specifically interpreting modern open-banking APIs. Until such jurisprudence develops, the legally defensible approach is to combine the emerging CBK framework with established Kuwaiti banking, confidentiality, contract, evidence and civil-liability principles.

The central principle is:

Open finance does not mean that financial data becomes “open” to everyone. It means that financial data can become securely portable between regulated participants when the customer gives legally valid authorization and the regulatory conditions for access are satisfied.