Comparison

NCBA NOW vs HID Approve

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

Head to head
About

NCBA NOW

Manage your banking needs with this app, offering features for both customers and non-customers. Perform various payments, manage accounts, and access customer support conveniently.

Highlights
  • eCitizen Government services payment
  • Account balance hiding/unhiding
  • Credit card bill payment and statement viewing
  • Debit & Credit Card Set/Change PIN
  • Insurance premium payments
  • M-Pesa to NCBA Account transfer
  • KRA domestic payments (iTax)
Features
Read full description

The NCBA NOW App has exciting features that make your banking experience with NCBA Bank fast and convenient. Enjoy the following features and so much more when you download the NCBA NOW App: • Transfer with confidence — recipient names now appear instantly when you enter a phone number, helping you send funds accurately. • Enjoy faster branch visits — initiate your cash deposit and/or withdrawal on the NCBA NOW app before reaching the counter, with no transaction forms needed. • Open your NCBA account anytime, anywhere - no queues, just a seamless start to your banking journey. • Payment of eCitizen Government services • Hide/unhide your account balance • Credit card bill payment balance and statement viewing • Debit & Credit Card Set PIN and Change PIN • Insurance premium payments • M-Pesa to NCBA Account transfer • KRA domestic payments (iTax) • Unit Trust accounts management • Details of your Relationship Manager • Fast contact to NCBA contact centre via telephone, email and WhatsApp • Secure payment options via RTGS, EFT and Pesalink • Lipa na M-Pesa services (PayBill / Buy good / Till) directly from your account • Top up for Expressway toll payments • Buy and sell forex through the FX Now feature

About

HID Approve

Securely validate transactions and authenticate using your mobile device. Approve requests with a simple swipe or generate one-time codes for offline use. This multi-factor authentication solution integrates with HID Global's security platform.

Highlights
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Push notification approvals
  • Swipe-gesture validation
  • One-time secure code generation
  • Offline authentication
  • Integration with HID Authentication Platform
Features
Read full description

HID Approve is a multi-factor authentication solution from HID Global that delivers a simple and secure way for you to validate transactions and authenticate. With push notifications and a simple swipe-gesture you can approve an authentication or transaction request on your mobile device. For mobile offline use, HID Approve enables you to generate one-time secure codes for strong authentication. HID Approve is a part of a broad range of hardware and software security tokens from HID Global that work with the HID Authentication Platform. To get started with HID Approve you will need to download the App and enroll it with your service provider.

Screenshots

NCBA NOW4 screens
HID Approve3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NCBA NOW at every 2 months against HID Approve's every 3 months. NCBA NOW also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 2.2 for NCBA NOW against 2.3 for HID Approve. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 28 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 14% and 14% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NCBA NOW ships an update every 2 months, HID Approve every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
NCBA NOW versus HID Approve: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNCBA NOWHID Approve
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (16 ratings)2.3 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.3% of reviews — better13.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1628 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNIC BANK LIMITEDHID Global

Customer experience

NCBA NOW

All ratings14 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative85.7%

HID Approve

All ratings28 ratings
Positive21.4%
Neutral17.9%
Negative60.7%
Written reviews94 reviews
Positive13.8%
Neutral6.4%
Negative79.8%

In-app purchases

None

NCBA NOW

No in-app purchases

None

HID Approve

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NCBA NOW free?
NCBA NOW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HID Approve free?
HID Approve is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NCBA NOW or HID Approve?
HID Approve is rated higher. NCBA NOW averages 2.2 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while HID Approve averages 2.3 from 28 ratings.
Do NCBA NOW or HID Approve have ads?
Neither NCBA NOW nor HID Approve shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NCBA NOW or HID Approve?
NCBA NOW ships an update every 2 months, and HID Approve every 3 months. Most recently, NCBA NOW was updated on September 7, 2026 and HID Approve on September 21, 2026.

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