As part of its commitment to providing an unprecedented customer experience

• The app’s rent collection service is free of charge
• The app allows users to add an unlimited number of property managers to follow up on rent collections
• The first banking app of its kind that is designed to facilitate the rent collection process

 

Kuwait, __ 2024: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) announced the launch of enhanced features and new services on its real estate digital platform ‘KIB Aqari’, dedicated to customers interested in owning, selling, and renting out real estate properties. The platform is also supported by a digital real estate appraisal service, the first of its kind in Kuwait.

Commenting on the launch, Fahad Al Saleh, Manager of the Real Estate Advisory Division and the Product Development and Support Division (PDSD) at KIB's Real Estate Department, said: “The new features come as part of the Bank’s commitment to keeping up with the latest digital innovations and its strategy of expanding online banking solutions. KIB constantly aims to provide its customers with an unprecedented experience, saving them time and effort, and fulfilling their needs in an easy and safe manner.”

Al Saleh added that the ‘KIB Aqari’ platform, which the Bank recently launched, was designed to be a one-stop shop that fulfills all real estate requirements. On top of the platform’s numerous services is the real estate appraisal service, digitally available for the first time in Kuwait. The service enables users to follow up on appraisal requests and validate assessments using QR codes. ‘KIB Aqari’ also offers a variety of features for real estate management, from automatic rent collection, all the way to tracking late rent payments, and much more that all ensure smooth operations.

As part of the enhancements made to ‘KIB Aqari’, the platform now includes numerous new features. In addition to the KIB Aqari savings account, users can link any of their other current or savings KIB accounts to the rent collection service. Users can also link a group of properties to a single account or dedicate different properties to different accounts for rent collection. Moreover, the rent collection service has become available for individuals and companies alike, where the account number can now be linked to the civil ID for individuals and to the commercial registry number for companies. As for the real estate web page, it has been developed to improve the display and visibility of the current balance of property-linked accounts, in addition to the occupancy rate and the collection rate. Thanks to all its features, KIB Aqari is considered the first banking application of its kind dedicated to facilitating the rent collection process without any fees.

Several other features have been updated on the platform, including those related to requesting a reassessment of an appraisal request and entering property data at any time in an easy, convenient and secure manner. The updated platform also allows users to submit an appraisal with comments for bank employees, issue an additional copy of the appraisal request, and direct the appraisal report to various local banks and finance companies. It also incorporates a personalized touch to a customer’s profile by allowing them to add a profile photo. Furthermore, the platform has become compatible with iOS operating systems to enable Apple iPad users to experience the enhanced features. Users can now explore more real estate services such as getting a response to an inquiry and requesting comprehensive real estate solutions right from the home page.

Additionally, new benefits have been introduced to the internal portal of the real estate appraisal division, such as bilingual support, whereby a user can pick between Arabic and English to use the platform. The updated platform has also incorporated general enhancements to solve issues related to the zoom and scroll functions on documents running under Windows.

It is worth noting that KIB constating strives to provide an advanced digital banking experience that suits its customers’ lifestyles. This comes in line with its efforts to move forward with its innovative and transformative journey through its new strategy focusing on delivering a more advanced and rich experience, based on its main slogan ‘Bank of Life’.