KUWAIT: In line with its commitment to promoting financial inclusion in society, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) endeavors to obliterate all obstacles that would prevent customers with special needs from availing the bank's financial and banking services. As part of its CSR program, KFH continues its active participation in the banking awareness campaign 'Diraya', launched by the Central Bank of Kuwait in collaboration with Kuwait Banking Association by publishing educational and awareness materials on social media platforms and on bank's e-channels.

This process aims to shed light on persons with special needs and provide all possible means to ensure that they receive all banking services without any additional fees or costs. According to CBK instructions on services provided by banks to people with special needs, KFH is keen on providing a special branch in each governorate, appropriate car parking, slopes, and elevators to enable wheelchaired customers to have an easy entry and exit to the branch and use ATMs and other facilities. There are sufficient wheelchairs in each branch for special needs customers.

Within its endeavor, KFH seeks to provide one ATM at least in each branch for customers with special needs, which can be accessed easily through a slope allocated for wheel chaired persons and that would provide full privacy to the customer in a card operated glass room equipped with earphone usage facility.

KFH provides all service-related information including customer's rights and obligations in a way appropriate to the customer's physical condition. Therefore, there is a dedicated well-trained employee to serve special needs customers in sign language. The branch has Braille printing facilities for account opening, contracts, and the other transaction forms.

Furthermore, KFH provides customers with special needs with easily accessible, comfortable, and appropriate safe deposits and the same banking services provided to other customers including credit and finance facilities without any extra charges, interest, returns, fees or other charges.

KFH organizes training sessions for its employees to learn and master certain skills to deal with special needs customers e.g., sign language to deal with persons having a hearing disability, reception rules and regulations of persons with special needs at branches and points of sale, giving them the priority along with aged customers, understand their needs and provide them with the automated machines and e-channels that would match their technical requirements.