How it works
Nothing moves. That's the whole idea.
A deposit is not a payment. It is a reservation the merchant asks the card network to hold — and a reservation only becomes a payment if someone collects it. Almost nobody ever does.
The four steps
You present the card.
The hotel, car-rental desk or service provider takes it exactly as they would any Visa Platinum card. Nothing about the terminal experience is different.
They place a hold.
The merchant asks the Visa network to reserve an amount — say KD 300. This is an authorization. No money leaves anyone's account. It is a reservation, not a payment.
We stand behind it.
Depozit guarantees 90% of that hold, up to a KD 500 ceiling — KD 450 of a full-ceiling claim. That guarantee is what the merchant is relying on: not your salary, and not a deposit.
It expires.
You check out, you return the car undamaged, and the hold expires on the network's own schedule — usually 7 to 30 days. KD 0 is settled. No debt is created.
What a hold is not
It is not a charge, not a deduction, and not a transfer. Nothing is taken from an account and returned later, because nothing was taken. If a merchant never collects, the reservation simply lapses and the amount was never anywhere but on a ledger.
If something goes wrong
We do not simply pay and bill you.
Occasionally a merchant will try to actually collect — a disputed damage claim, a minibar charge you say you never had. When that happens we suspend the settlement and act as your agent. Our retained legal panel examines the claim first.
If the claim is not valid
We decline it and pursue the merchant through Visa's own dispute channels. You pay nothing.
If the claim is valid
We settle it, and you repay us exactly what we paid, less nothing and plus nothing. There is no mark-up, no fee and no interest on that repayment. Where a claim reaches the ceiling, KD 50 of it is your own share — see the pricing page.
In the app
Every hold, live.
The amount, the merchant, how much of your ceiling it uses, and a countdown to the day it releases.
If a merchant re-books a longer stay, you see one hold with a new date — never two. If you ever see two holds for one stay, that is a fault, and the help centre tells you exactly what to do about it.
Questions about the hold itself
Does money leave my account when the hold is placed?
No. There is no account for it to leave — this card has no balance and no credit line. The merchant reserves an amount against a guarantee we provide, and a reservation moves nothing.
How long does a hold last?
Usually 7 to 30 days, depending on the merchant category. The network sets that window, not the merchant and not us. The app shows the exact countdown for each hold.
What happens if a merchant asks for more than KD 500?
The authorization is declined at the terminal. The ceiling is a hard limit on what the facility will stand behind, so a hold larger than KD 500 cannot be placed against it at all.
Can I have more than one hold at a time?
Yes, as long as they fit inside the KD 500 ceiling together. The app shows how much of the ceiling is committed and how much is still available.
Ready when you are.
Eligibility takes a couple of minutes. Identity checks happen in the app.
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.