A Kuwaiti cheque is filled in English on bilingual stationery, dated DD/MM/YYYY, and written in Kuwaiti dinars to three decimal places, because one dinar is 1,000 fils. KWD 1.250 means one dinar and 250 fils. If you write or print it as 1.25, you have written a different amount.

This guide explains how cheques work in Kuwait as of October 2026: currency and wording, crossing and post-dated cheques, validity, clearing, what a bounced cheque leads to, and how to print for Kuwaiti banks in ChequeMaster.

How cheques are used in Kuwait

Businesses in Kuwait still pay suppliers, landlords, contractors and some salaries by cheque. Post-dated cheques are also common as instalments and security. Banks issue cheque books only to current-account holders, and a returned cheque has real consequences (covered below). So Kuwaiti businesses tend to treat cheques as a formal payment instrument, not a casual one.

Language, date format and currency

Language

Kuwaiti cheque leaves carry Arabic and English text. Filling them in English is normal, and banks accept it. Use one language throughout a cheque.

Date format

Use DD/MM/YYYY, for example 03/12/2026, with the year in full.

Dinars and fils: three decimals

The Kuwait Government Online portal states that the Kuwaiti dinar (KD) is divided into one thousand fils. Figures therefore always carry three decimals: KWD 3,125.000, KWD 87.250. In words, KWD 1,250.500 is "One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Kuwaiti Dinars and Five Hundred Fils Only". "Fils" is used for both singular and plural, so "One Fils" is correct.

Large amounts use the million system. More examples and common mistakes are in writing KWD, BHD and OMR amounts in words.

Crossing, bearer and post-dated cheques

Crossing. An account payee crossing tells the bank to credit the named payee's account instead of paying cash. Use it for supplier and salary cheques. See crossed cheques.

Bearer. If you leave the bearer wording in place, whoever holds the cheque can cash it. For named payees, strike it out.

Post-dated cheques. PDCs are common for leases, car loans and staged contract payments. Treat each one as a firm commitment: if the account is short when it is presented, it is a returned cheque like any other. Keep a dated register and review it monthly. Our post-dated cheque guide shows how.

Validity and clearing

Ask your own bank how long its cheques stay valid. Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, for example, states in its cheque FAQs that a cheque is valid for 7 months from the date written on it. Don't assume the six months common elsewhere, and don't count on a bank paying an older cheque. See cheque validity for background.

Cheques between banks clear through the Kuwait Electronic Cheques Clearing System (KECCS), which the Central Bank of Kuwait launched on 14 June 2015. KECCS clears cheques as electronic images and checks them against unified security criteria. According to the CBK, funds now reach the beneficiary within a single business day, instead of three under the old manual system.

What happens if a cheque bounces in Kuwait

Issuing a cheque without enough funds is a criminal offence in Kuwait. The cheque-book terms published by Commercial Bank of Kuwait, for example, state that under Article 237 of the Kuwaiti Penal Code the drawer can be punished by imprisonment, a fine, or both. The same terms say the bank will close the account if three cheques with different numbers are returned within a year (or if it finds bad faith). The customer's name then goes on the Central Survey System for one year. During that time it is hard to open a new current account or get a new cheque book.

Exact penalty limits and any recent changes should be confirmed with a Kuwaiti lawyer. The GCC bounced cheque law comparison sets out what we could and could not verify.

How to write a Kuwaiti cheque correctly

  1. Date in DD/MM/YYYY.
  2. Payee with the full registered name, matching their bank account.
  3. Figures with three decimals and thousand separators, e.g. 12,450.750, starting right at the edge of the box.
  4. Words giving dinars and fils, ending in "Only".
  5. Crossing: mark A/C Payee for any named payment.
  6. Signature exactly as on the bank's specimen card.

The checks that catch most errors are in common cheque writing mistakes.

Pre-added Kuwaiti bank layouts

ChequeMaster is not limited to these banks. It works with any bank's cheque, in any country. The layouts below are simply the Kuwaiti bank layouts that come pre-added, so you can start printing without any setup. For any other bank, build a layout from a scan of a blank leaf in a few minutes, and add as many banks and layouts as you need.

  • Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait
  • Boubyan Bank
  • Kuwait Finance House
  • National Bank of Kuwait
  • Warba Bank

Two cheque sizes cover all five of these banks. National Bank of Kuwait, Boubyan and Warba share one size. Kuwait Finance House and Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait share a smaller one. In practice:

  • Same size, different layout. Banks that share a size still place their fields differently, so each bank needs its own cheque book with its own layout. Put the bank name in the cheque book name (for example "ABK Current 8801-8850") so the wrong layout is obvious before you print.
  • Margins carry over. Once your margins are right for one bank of a given size, the others of the same size usually need little or no adjustment.
  • Smaller cheques, longer figures. On the KFH and Al Ahli leaves, a three-decimal amount puts more characters in a smaller box. Check the figures field first on your test print, and lower that field's font size a step if the last digit crowds the edge.

Islamic banks (KFH, Boubyan, Warba) issue ordinary cheques. Printing works exactly as for conventional banks. For any other bank, create your own layout from a scan of a blank leaf.

Setting up ChequeMaster for Kuwait

  1. Currency: choose Kuwaiti dinar, so the words read dinars and fils.
  2. Decimals: set decimal digits to 3 in Settings. At the default of 2, KWD 3.125 would print rounded to 3.13. It is a general setting, so change it back if you also print two-decimal currencies.
  3. Words and date: select the million system and DD/MM/YYYY.
  4. Cheque book: add the account under its bank and create the cheque book with the matching layout and leaf numbers. Set the A/C Payee default and hide the Bearer text if you never issue bearer cheques. See general and cheque book settings.
  5. Test print: print on plain A4, compare against a real leaf, and fine-tune the margins with the alignment guide.

ChequeMaster runs on Windows, works offline, and records every printed cheque against its number. That gives you a dated list to check PDCs and returned cheques against. See features or licence options.