The hotel wants KD 300.
Keep it.
Depozit is a Visa Platinum card that satisfies hotel, car-rental and service deposits — without a salary transfer, without collateral, and without a single fils of interest.
- Registration with the Central Bank of Kuwait is in progress. We are not yet authorised to issue cards.
- BIN sponsorship is under negotiation with a Visa principal member.
- Our four-contract structure has been submitted to an independent Sharia Supervisory Board for ruling.
Guarantee ceiling
KD 300 committed of KD 500
Open holds
Hotel — check-in
Authorized, not charged
KD 300
Depozit guarantees KD 450 of a KD 500 hold. Nothing has left an account.
KD 0
to qualify
KD 500
guarantee ceiling
KD 80
per year, all in
KD 50
your share of a settled claim
The problem
Two ways to satisfy a deposit. Both cost you.
Pay cash
KD 300 to KD 500 of your own money, locked up for the length of your stay. You get it back eventually — but not while you need it.
Use a credit card
Which in Kuwait usually means a KD 400 monthly salary transfer, or KD 1000 of collateral, plus around KD 100 to issue it. And a credit line you never asked for.
The third route
We guarantee it instead.
Depozit issues you a Visa Platinum card with no credit line and no balance. When a merchant asks for a deposit, they place a hold on your card, and we stand behind that hold.
We cover 90% of it, up to a KD 500 ceiling — KD 450 at the ceiling, with the remaining KD 50 your own responsibility if a valid claim is ever settled.
In almost every case the merchant never collects, the hold expires, and nothing is ever paid. Your money never moves.
The difference
How it compares
Same stay, same deposit. The only variable is what you have to put up to satisfy it.
| Cash deposit | Credit card | Depozit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To qualify | — | KD 400/month salary or KD 1000 collateral | Nothing |
| Up-front cost | KD 300–KD 500 locked | around KD 100 issuance | KD 0 |
| Your cash immobilised | Yes | No | No |
| Interest | — | Yes | None, ever |
| Credit check | No | Yes | No |
| Annual cost | — | Varies | KD 80 |
How it works
Nothing moves. That's the whole idea.
You present the card.
Taken exactly as any Visa Platinum card. Nothing about the terminal is different.
They place a hold.
An authorization — a reservation, not a payment. No money leaves anyone's account.
We stand behind it.
Up to KD 450 of a KD 500 hold. That guarantee is what the merchant relies on.
It expires.
Usually 7 to 30 days. KD 0 is settled, and no debt is created.
Where we stand today
Licensing, sponsorship and the ruling
Three approvals gate this product. Here is exactly where each one is — not where we hope it will be.
Regulator
Registration with the Central Bank of Kuwait is in progress. We are not yet authorised to issue cards.
Sharia governance
Our four-contract structure has been submitted to an independent Sharia Supervisory Board for ruling.
Card issuance
BIN sponsorship is under negotiation with a Visa principal member.
Who it's for
Same product. Different blocked route.
The obvious objection
Isn't a fee for a guarantee just interest with extra steps?
It's the right question, and it gets a full page rather than a badge.
The short version: the fee is flat, it is not apportioned by time, and recovery on a settled claim is at cost with no mark-up. A charge that varied with the amount or the duration would be a price for money — and we would not be able to offer it.
Questions
The things people ask first.
So you take KD 500 from me?
No. A hold is a reservation the merchant places with the card network — it moves no money. In almost every case it expires unused and nothing is ever paid.
Is this a credit card?
No. There is no credit line, no revolving balance, and no interest in either direction. It is a Visa Platinum card standing on a guarantee we provide.
What do I actually pay?
KD 80 a year, itemised across four contracts, or KD 90 spread over 6 payments. If a valid claim is ever settled, KD 50 of it at the ceiling is your own share, and you repay our part at cost.
What if the hotel tries to charge me anyway?
We suspend the settlement and our retained legal panel examines the claim as your agent, before anything is paid. Invalid claims are declined and pursued through Visa's channels.
Do you check my salary or my credit file?
Neither. There is no credit line to underwrite, so there is nothing a credit check would inform.
Your next check-in shouldn't cost you KD 300.
We are not issuing cards yet. Leave an email and we will write once — when we are.
Registration with the Central Bank of Kuwait is in progress. We are not yet authorised to issue cards.
Our four-contract structure has been submitted to an independent Sharia Supervisory Board for ruling.
BIN sponsorship is under negotiation with a Visa principal member.
Depozit does not offer credit. There is no credit line, no revolving balance, and no interest charged or paid on any part of this product. The guarantee covers 90% of the KD 500 ceiling; the remaining KD 50 is the cardholder's own responsibility.