Comparison

Mal Digital vs FAB First

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

Head to head
About

Mal Digital

An AI-first digital bank designed with Islamic values, offering a modern approach to managing your finances. It helps you understand spending, send money internationally, and save for goals, all within one intuitive platform.

Highlights
  • AI-first banking experience
  • Islamic values guided
  • International money transfers
  • Spending analysis
  • Savings goals
  • Zakat calculation
Features
Read full description

Meet Mal. A fully digital, AI-first bank built for people who expect banking to be better. Not another bank with AI added on top. Not the old system in a new app. Mal is built from scratch, guided by Islamic values, and open to everyone. Because waiting 14 business days, printing forms, and hearing “please visit your nearest branch” was not the future we were promised. Need to send money abroad? Ask Mal. Need to understand your spending? Ask Mal. And this is just the beginning. Mal helps you ask, understand, and act in one place, with answers shaped around your budget, spending, and goals. See where your salary went. Check if you’re spending more than you think. Save for Hajj or Umrah. Calculate your Zakat. Handle your money without needing a finance degree. Built on Islamic values. Designed for the world. Made for everyday life. Join the waitlist today and experience banking that moves at the speed of your life, not a legacy system. Mal. Fair by design

About

FAB First

Features
Read full description

Meet FAB FIRST. A new app from FAB that brings together AI, data and insights for a more intelligent and personal banking experience. Your existing FAB Mobile app remains available, with over 200 services at your fingertips. FAB FIRST is the first step towards a whole new way of banking with FAB. AN AI ASSISTANT THAT KNOWS YOUR MONEY: Ask anything about your finances, your products and benefits, or get help with what you need. FAB FIRST understands what you're asking and gives you intelligent answers drawn from your own transactions. How much did I spend on dining last month? What offers do I have? When is my card payment due? Just ask. INSIGHTS THAT FIND YOU: FAB FIRST reads your spending and cashflow patterns and shows you what matters before you think to ask. No searching, no digging. Just the insight you need, right when it’s relevant. DO MORE THAN ASK: Need to pay a bill? Want to move money between accounts? FAB FIRST lets you complete many of your everyday banking transactions, with more being added regularly. For now, you can transfer funds locally, pay your utilities, manage your credit cards, all in a few taps. MANAGE YOUR CARDS: Activate a card, see your card benefits and payment due date, set card controls and spending limits. Full control, right at hand. BUDGETS, BUILT IN: A new budgeting feature that tracks your spending against your budget every month. Set an overall budget or budget by spend category. ONE VIEW OF EVERYTHING: See all your FAB products in one place, along with your spending, budget and cashflow. Everything presented clearly so you always know where you stand. JOIN FAB EASILY: New to FAB? Simply download FAB FIRST and apply for an account. More products coming soon.

Screenshots

Mal Digital4 screens
FAB First4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Mal Digital at every 2 days against FAB First's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mal Digital ships an update every 2 days, FAB First every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Mal Digital versus FAB First: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMal DigitalFAB First
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size319 MB310 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMalBankFirst Abu Dhabi Bank

In-app purchases

None

Mal Digital

No in-app purchases

None

FAB First

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mal Digital free?
Mal Digital is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FAB First free?
FAB First is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mal Digital or FAB First have ads?
Neither Mal Digital nor FAB First shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mal Digital or FAB First?
Mal Digital ships an update every 2 days, and FAB First every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mal Digital was updated on October 6, 2026 and FAB First on October 10, 2026.

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