Comparison

NBK Mobile Banking vs Amex MENA

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NBK Mobile Banking

Manage your bank accounts, cards, and finances with a user-friendly mobile banking experience. Perform transactions, redeem rewards, and access banking services securely from anywhere.

Highlights
  • Onboard new customers
  • Manage debit, prepaid, and credit cards
  • Transfer funds locally and internationally
  • Redeem credit card rewards
  • Access banking notifications
  • Locate branches and ATMs
  • Cardless withdrawals
Features
Read full description

A New Experience Tailored For You. Introducing the new NBK Mobile Banking App with an elevated user-friendly design, easier navigation, faster transactions and more personalized secure experience. In addition to the various features, including: • Onboard to NBK as a new customer • Learn more about the best offers and products • Redeem your credit card rewards • Manage your debit, prepaid and credit cards • Log in with Touch ID or Face ID • View the history of transactions made on your accounts and credit cards • Transfer funds between your accounts, or to a beneficiary locally or internationally and the ability to track them • Transfer money from your credit card to your account (cash advance) • Access all our banking notifications gathered in one place with NBK Push Notifications • Transfer to brokerage account • Transfer to/from Watani International Brokerage • Transfer money to your NBK Capital SmartWealth investment account • Add local and international beneficiaries • Enjoy NBK Quick Pay • Enjoy Bill Splitting • Make payments to your credit cards and telephone bills • Open NBK Deposits • Request account statements and checkbooks • View participating outlets in NBK Rewards Program • Display common questions • Make cardless withdrawal • Locate your nearest NBK Branch, ATM or CDM in Kuwait • Contact us by calling NBK from inside and outside Kuwait or through our social media network • Locate branches and ATMs through the Augmented Reality feature • View travel tips • Use Al Jawhara, loan and term deposit calculators • View the exchange rate • Create NBK Prepaid Cards with different currencies • Open accounts in Kuwaiti Dinar and other currencies • Activate dormant accounts • View NBK Miles and Rewards Points • Use live chat • Increase your monthly transfer limit • Block and unblock your cards while traveling • Update your email and mobile number • View the details of Watani Money Market Funds and investment funds • Establish standing orders • Make currency exchange • Replace lost/ stolen card • Enable Dark Mode And much more The new NBK Mobile Banking App allows you to manage your account anytime, anywhere. It is available in Arabic and English. For support, please call 1801801 or contact us on NBK WhatsApp 1801801. Our trained agents will be more than happy to assist around the clock.

About

Amex MENA

Manage your American Express account on the go with this mobile application. Track spending, view transactions, pay bills, and discover exclusive offers. Apply for cards, set spending goals, and earn rewards points.

Highlights
  • Digital card applications
  • Transaction tracking
  • Spending timeline by category
  • Supplementary card management
  • Card PIN management
  • Membership Rewards points
  • Exclusive local and online offers
Features
Read full description

The official Amex (Middle East) B.S.C. Mobile app allows you to access your account from anywhere, safely and securely. Track spend, find offers, pay your bill and enjoy many more features in the Amex MENA app. تطبيق Amex MENA الآن متاح باللغة العربية Benefits and features: - Apply digitally through the app for your Amex Card in the UAE - Choose to navigate in your preferred language, Arabic or English - Instant view of your transactions - View your Spending Timeline and track your spends by categories - Apply for Supplementary Cards for Family and manage with ease - Set up, view or unblock your Card PIN Explore rewards and benefits: - We reward your loyalty, by earning Membership Rewards® points on all your spend. Set up goals within the app to get the things you want, with points that never expire - Access to hundreds of local and online offers on shopping, entertainment, dining and wellness - Book your next trip with American Express, easily submit Concierge travel or lifestyle requests, whenever and wherever you are - Refer your friends and earn rewards when they get approved for a Card The Amex MENA app is for Personal and Corporate Cards issued by American Express Middle East. If your Card is not issued by American Express Middle East, then you will not be able to log-in to the Amex MENA app. All access to the app is subject to and governed by American Express Middle East End User License Agreement.

Screenshots

NBK Mobile Banking4 screens
Amex MENA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: NBK Mobile Banking at 73% against Amex MENA's 15%. NBK Mobile Banking also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.4) and ratings volume (45K vs 101). Amex MENA's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NBK Mobile Banking holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NBK Mobile Banking has 45K ratings behind it against 101, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of NBK Mobile Banking's written reviews are positive against 15% of Amex MENA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NBK Mobile Banking ships an update monthly, Amex MENA every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
NBK Mobile Banking versus Amex MENA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNBK Mobile BankingAmex MENA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (45K ratings) — better2.4 (101 ratings)
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews — better14.6% of reviews
Number of ratings45K — better101
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size375 MB203 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperNational Bank of KuwaitAMEX (MIDDLE EAST) B.S.C. (C)

Customer experience

NBK Mobile Banking

All ratings45,323 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews251 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative21.1%

Amex MENA

All ratings100 ratings
Positive33.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative63.0%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive14.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative83.1%

User reviews

NBK Mobile Banking

From 45K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Helpful app with many banking services
  • 👍 User-friendly and convenient
  • 🚀 Easy to use and navigate

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and loading issues
  • 🐛 Performance problems and slow response
  • 🔒 Security issues with device detection

Amex MENA

From 101 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Covers all features (mentioned once)
  • 👍 User friendly (mentioned once)
  • 👍 Great UI (mentioned once)
  • 👍 Simple to use (mentioned once)
  • 👍 Extremely functional (mentioned once)

Room to improve

  • 👎 Extremely outdated app
  • 👎 App is barely working
  • 👎 Inability to book travel services
  • 👎 App is way behind competition
  • 👎 Login does not work

Bugs and requests

NBK Mobile Banking

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App detects device as jailbroken incorrectly
  • Face ID and self-service features not working
  • Compatibility issues with recent iOS updates
  • Frequent app crashes and shutdowns

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to pay loans anytime
  • Provide online bank statements in the app
  • Improve credit card and KNet access abroad
  • Add option to rename/edit account names

Amex MENA

Reported bugs

95 issues
  • Won't allow update
  • Barely working
  • Login does not work
  • App stopped working
  • Technical issues
Show 90 more
  • Non-functional
  • Buggy
  • Acts like browser while using app
  • Unstable
  • Poorly designed
  • Confusing interface
  • Slow interface
  • Full of bugs
  • Nothing works smoothly
  • App crashes during application process
  • Card scan not working
  • App crashes all the time
  • Offers page doesn't load
  • App keeps spinning for offers
  • App gets stuck
  • App blocked in Nigeria
  • Disconnecting during live chat
  • Not compatible with iOS 17
  • Instant crash loop after scanning ID
  • Login works 1/20 times
  • App not working after latest update
  • Full of bugs, low response
  • Loading on every command
  • Application not working
  • Scanning option for old Emirates ID
  • Fix your bugs
  • Not working after last update
  • App crashes
  • Login issues
  • App is slow
  • App is very slow
  • App freezes
  • App is not working
  • App hangs at welcome screen
  • App not optimized for iOS 8.1
  • App not optimized for iOS 8
  • App not optimized for iPhone X
  • App not optimized for iPhone plus
  • Fingerprint option not switched to Face ID
  • App is slow, clunky
  • App not designed for iPhone 6 and 6s screens
  • App freezes on transaction details
  • App not compatible with iOS 13
  • App is old and buggy
  • App looks obsolete
  • App is slow and unresponsive
  • Connection to server is lost
  • App looks like iOS 5
  • Doesn't let you fill boxes on forms
  • Payment terminal does not open
  • App needs to be faster
  • App looks like iOS 8 App
  • App doesn't support iPad screen
  • App uses Face ID to log in but logs in again after logout
  • App is old and needs a facelift
  • App doesn't respond quickly
  • App is slow sometimes
  • App needs to be faster
  • App is slow
  • App is not responsive
  • App is old
  • App is very old fashion
  • App needs a facelift
  • App is dated
  • App is buggy
  • App needs a total makeover
  • App looks 1000 years old
  • App looks like iOS 5
  • App looks like an elementary school project
  • App is 1000 years old
  • App is slow and unresponsive
  • App is buggy
  • App looks dated
  • App is not native iOS
  • App design and functionality very poor
  • App is below par
  • App looks like iOS 5
  • App needs to fix bugs
  • App is very slow
  • App does not log in
  • App needs to be up to date
  • App is old
  • App is slow
  • App is not responsive
  • App is slow
  • App is not responsive
  • App not optimized for iPhone X
  • App not optimized for iPhone plus
  • App is slow, clunky
  • App not designed for iPhone 6 and 6s screens

Requested features

24 requests
  • Allow booking travel services
  • Add Apple Pay and Google Pay support
  • More offers and services online
  • More merchants accepting payment online
  • Improve search engine and sort options for offers
Show 19 more
  • Improve user interface and easy access
  • Add manual option for ID scanning
  • Add Arabic language support
  • Add features like QR code payment
  • Allow selection of any amount for supplement card monthly limit
  • Add unlock blocked cards feature
  • Add redeem points feature
  • Improve UI and refresh functionality
  • Add Qpay (Qatar) payment option
  • Design for iPhone 6 and 6s screens
  • Update to match latest iPhone screen sizes
  • Support for iPhone X and newer iPhones
  • Implement Face ID instead of fingerprint
  • Support for big screen iPads
  • Improve supplementary card form
  • Add dark mode
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard
  • Support for Saudi Arabia accounts
  • Support for AMEX Saudi Arabia

In-app purchases

None

NBK Mobile Banking

No in-app purchases

None

Amex MENA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NBK Mobile Banking free?
NBK Mobile Banking is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Amex MENA free?
Amex MENA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NBK Mobile Banking or Amex MENA?
NBK Mobile Banking is rated higher. NBK Mobile Banking averages 4.7 out of 5 from 45K ratings, while Amex MENA averages 2.4 from 101 ratings.
Do NBK Mobile Banking or Amex MENA have ads?
Neither NBK Mobile Banking nor Amex MENA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NBK Mobile Banking or Amex MENA?
NBK Mobile Banking ships an update monthly, and Amex MENA every 6 weeks. Most recently, NBK Mobile Banking was updated on October 30, 2026 and Amex MENA on October 21, 2026.

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