• The AlDanah semi-annual draw prize winner of 2021 is taking home a prize of KD 1 Million
• AlDanah is one of Gulf Bank’s long-standing savings accounts, rewarding clients for saving
• Gulf Bank is announcing two millionaires this year

Kuwait, 15 July 2021: On Thursday evening, Gulf Bank held its semi-annual draw to announce its newest millionaire and the winner of the AlDanah account’s semi-annual draw prize of 1 Million Kuwaiti Dinars for the year 2021. This year, the semi-annual prize went to Naser Bader Haji AlHaddad.

The winner was announced as part of a virtual draw event that aired on AlRai TV and the Bank’s various social media channels. The draw was held live in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and from Ernst & Young.

Gulf Bank, Bank of the Future

At the start of the event, the General Manager of Consumer Banking at Gulf Bank, Mohammed Al-Qattan, touched on the latest strategic developments at Gulf Bank, saying: “In keeping with the promise we made to our esteemed clients at the beginning of the year when we revealed the winner of AlDanah’s KD 1.5 Million grand prize, we are excited to announce yet another millionaire today as part of our semi-annual AlDanah account draw. I am also pleased to take this opportunity to announce our latest developments and innovations at Gulf Bank, as we continuously strive to facilitate and simplify our customer experience. Our vision is to consolidate our leadership position in Kuwait, and our mission is to provide our customers with simple and innovative services and products. That is why our team is mindful about every little detail when keeping pace with developments in both the Kuwaiti and global markets, as we continue on the path to becoming the Kuwaiti Bank of the Future.”

A Gulf Bank Minute

Commenting on what can happen in a minute with Gulf Bank, Bader AlAli, Deputy General Manager of Consumer Banking at Gulf Bank, said: “I am pleased to announce a new era of digital banking services for our customers, as opening an account with Gulf Bank is now the easiest and fastest account registration process in Kuwait. At Gulf Bank, we are constantly striving to provide simpler, more convenient and more secure banking services compared to the traditional banking experience. This new initiative is only the beginning of Gulf Bank’s digital and technological transformation and is part of our new strategy to give customers the option of conducting their banking transactions anytime, anywhere — be it from the comfort of home or the office. We have now developed our systems and designed our services with our clients’ evolving needs in mind, enabling customers to conveniently open new accounts on their phones, in just one minute! Clients can now open Gulf Bank Salary, “red”, AlDanah, savings, and all other accounts on their phones, and receive their account numbers and IBAN numbers immediately via the Gulf Bank application, making it possible for our clients to conduct money transfers, shop online, and more.”

AlAli added: “At Gulf Bank, we are constantly striving to provide our customers with the ultimate customer experience. We are also continuously working to achieve the highest levels of flexibility in developing our digital services to facilitate and simplify our customers’ lives. The Gulf Bank application’s recent updates were developed with these tenets in mind, and although we are excited to announce this unique feature today, we know that our efforts do not stop here. We are always aspiring for more, and are working to provide even more features that will facilitate our customers’ lives and provide them with an unparalleled banking experience.”

“red” Account Revamp

Gulf Bank works year-round studying the requirements of multiple customer segments with the goal of tailoring various banking products to suit customer groups’ specific needs. On that note, Gulf Bank gathered a number of youth as part of a focus group to assess their opinions on the banking services currently being provided to them, what more they would like to experience from Gulf Bank’s services and products, and what constitutes the ideal banking experience. With the learnings from these focus groups in mind, Gulf Bank launched a series of updates and improvements to Gulf Bank’s red Account for the youth segment, as mentioned by Gulf Bank’s Deputy General Manager of Marketing, Najla Aleisa, who commented: “Gulf Bank’s red account is specifically designed to support our youth on their paths to realizing their dreams and achieving their goals. In that way, ‘red’ is more than an account; it is our youth’s companion and a source of constant support. In keeping with the youth’s creativity and excellence, we decided to launch a completely revamped card for the red account, complete with a new and innovative design that was designed by the youth, for the youth. In fact, we also employed the marketing department of a student group to design the card, not only in terms of shape, but also in terms of the features and exclusive discounts that the youth segment would like to see more of. The youth we interviewed expressed a preference for a simple and distinctive card design that protects the user’s privacy, going so far as not including the user’s name on the front, in addition to other features and characteristics that constitute the ideal banking experience. To further encourage Gulf Bank’s youth community, we also launched an exclusive Instagram account for the youth to keep up with everything Gulf Bank has to offer them.”

Women: “Danah” Cornerstones of the Home

In addition to its focus on the youth segment, Gulf Bank is keen to focus on women when introducing new products and services, as the Bank considers women an independent category, tailoring their services according to women’s needs and lifestyles in order to provide them with the best possible banking experience. On this, the Director of the Investment Department at Gulf Bank, Dalia Al-Qassem, said: "At Gulf Bank, we are more aware than ever of the active role of women in Kuwaiti society. Gulf Bank has always been a pioneer in championing gender equality in solidarity with the Bank’s vision and that of its senior management. Today, women have more investment opportunities than ever, which is why Gulf Bank is constantly encouraging women to save and invest in an attempt to enable them to achieve their various goals, including financial independence and maintaining a stable household income. Moreover, evolving technology has also contributed to the creation of diversified low-risk and income-generating investment products, tailored specifically to meet the investment needs and preferences of women, as demonstrated by various studies. On that note, Gulf Bank is proud to offer WISE Investments, an advisory and portfolio management service that provides women with the opportunity to diversify their investments and invest in international markets in an easy, transparent and cost-efficient way — all via a simplified investment portfolio that is not only tailored to the client’s financial goals, but can also be created quickly and conveniently online. At Gulf Bank, we strive to provide the best solutions for our clients through various investment services with limited risk in order to guarantee our clients’ financial rights. In addition, we proudly employ certified investment advisors that manage our clients’ investments under the guidance of the Central Bank of Kuwait.”

Gulf Bank Celebrates Latest Lyrical Masterpiece

At the beginning of the ceremony, Gulf Bank aired its latest song, which had been released in anticipation of the semi-annual AlDanah account draw for the KD 1 Million prize. The new song is performed by Abdulsalam Mohammed and Hadi, with a maritime melody that reflects the culture of the people of Kuwait and the spirit of Gulf Bank.

As is tradition, Gulf Bank’s clients have become accustomed to expecting entertaining performances from the Bank in celebration of various national and social occasions. This time around, after Gulf Bank increased the AlDanah account prizes with the promise to announce two new millionaires this year, the Bank launched a song that celebrates its relationship with its loyal customers, rewarding them in a similar fashion as to how the sea rewards its seafarers, as depicted in the music video. The music video released with the song also depicts the difficulty of pearl diving and the hardship that our forefathers endured while, at the same time, highlighting the ease of winning with Gulf Bank’s AlDanah account, and how life changing winning an AlDanah prize can be.

During the course of the song, artists Abdulsalam Mohammed and Hadi refer to Gulf Bank’s recent increase of the AlDanah account prizes, and how even during the past year, all customers’ AlDanah chances were accumulated as a reward for their loyalty. The song's lyrics also refer to Gulf Bank's slogan, the AlDanah account draws and prizes, and to the increase in the AlDanah prize amounts.

Customers can deposit to win AlDanah cash prizes throughout the year as part of the draws listed in the following table:

Excellence All Around

Following the announcement of the winner, the Assistant General Manager of Corporate Communications at Gulf Bank, Ahmad Al-Amir said: “We would like to congratulate Naser Bader Haji AlHaddad on winning this year’s KD 1 Million prize. We would like to remind our clients that they still have plenty of time to deposit before September 30 for the chance to win the AlDanah account’s KD 1.5 Million prize. What’s more — opening an AlDanah account is now easier than ever before, with customers now able to register & deposit into a new account within just one minute! At Gulf Bank, we are constantly striving to achieve excellence and innovation when serving the many segments of the Bank’s esteemed clients. Today, we are proud to announce a comprehensive revamp of our ‘red’ youth account, and are continuing to provide customers with products that meet their evolving needs, including investment services that suit our clients’ objectives and goals. Moreover, we know that our passion does not end here; rather, this is the beginning of a long journey of digital transformation and structural development, as we continue down the path to asserting Gulf Bank’s position as the Bank of the Future.”

Gulf Bank Recognizes & Rewards Loyalty

As part of Gulf Bank's commitment to rewarding customers for their loyalty, the AlDanah account provides account holders with loyalty chances. Loyalty chances are the total chances gained in the previous year, which are then transferred to the current year to reward customers for their loyalty to the Bank. Accordingly, all chances gained by existing AlDanah customers in 2020 have been transferred to the 2021 draws, and this will be repeated in 2022 onwards. Terms and conditions apply.

Gulf Bank encourages AlDanah account holders to increase their chances of winning by increasing the amounts deposited into their accounts. With Gulf Bank, depositing into an AlDanah account is now easier than ever, as clients can deposit into their accounts using the ePay service, available through the Bank's Online/Mobile Banking services.

The AlDanah account provides a multitude of valuable services to its customers, including access to an exclusive AlDanah ATM card, ideal for depositing money into their accounts at any time. Account holders can now also calculate their chances of winning the monthly, quarterly and annual draws using the AlDanah Calculator, available on Gulf Bank’s Online and Mobile Banking App.

AlDanah Enriches You

Gulf Bank’s AlDanah account is open to both Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti residents of Kuwait. A minimum of KD 200 is required to open an account and the same amount must be maintained for customers to be eligible for the upcoming AlDanah draws. If the customer’s account balance falls below KD 200 at any given time, a KD 2 fee will be charged to the account monthly until the minimum balance is met. To participate in this year’s upcoming monthly, quarterly and annual AlDanah draws, customers must maintain the required balance.