Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain (formerly Ahli United Bank)

Overview

Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain is a Bahraini Islamic retail bank. It traded as Ahli United Bank (AUB) until July 2025, and its legal name changed from Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (c) to Kuwait Finance House B.S.C. (c) on 10 July 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). It is wholly owned by Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P., which bought the AUB group in October 2022 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf) [2](https://www.kfh.com/en/home/Personal/news/2023/AUB---Bahrain-Announces-its-Conversion-to-an-Islamic-Bank.html).

The bank has no wallet of its own. Its customers pay with the KFH Bahrain mobile app, which sends Fawri+ transfers and pays Fawateer bills [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261). They can also put its cards in Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet or Garmin Pay [7](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/KFH-TOCs-Mass-AR-EN-V2.pdf), or link their accounts to the national BenefitPay wallet. This bio covers the bank's app and the rails it reaches. The group's Kuwaiti parent has its own bio, KFH.

History

• 2000: incorporation. The bank was incorporated in Bahrain on 12 July 2000 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). Its group CEO in 2025 described the bank's history as more than 25 years long [3](https://kfh.com/en/home/Personal/news/2025/KFH-Unveils-New-Visual-Identity-of-Ahli-United-Bank-under-KFH---Bahrain.html).
• 2013: the app. AUB's iPhone app was first released on 30 December 2013. It is the same listing that now carries the KFH Bahrain name [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261).
• 2021: Apple Pay and AFAQ. In April 2021 AUB was in the first group of Bahraini retail banks connected to AFAQ, the GCC's cross-currency settlement system, along with Bahrain Islamic Bank, BBK, Eskan Bank and National Bank of Bahrain [9](https://www.cbb.gov.bh/media-center/the-central-bank-of-bahrain-introduces-afaq-gcc-rtgs-system). In October 2021 it brought Apple Pay to its credit and debit cards [8](https://www.newsofbahrain.com/business/76138.html).
• 2022: acquisition. Kuwait Finance House acquired the AUB group in October 2022 [2](https://www.kfh.com/en/home/Personal/news/2023/AUB---Bahrain-Announces-its-Conversion-to-an-Islamic-Bank.html).
• 2023: Islamic conversion. On 10 December 2023 the Central Bank of Bahrain approved the bank as a licensed Islamic bank [2](https://www.kfh.com/en/home/Personal/news/2023/AUB---Bahrain-Announces-its-Conversion-to-an-Islamic-Bank.html). The UK, Egyptian and Iraqi units followed between August 2024 and January 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).
• 2025: the KFH name. The UK and Egyptian banks were renamed Kuwait Finance House in January 2025, and the Bahraini bank and its DIFC branch in July 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). The new name covers branches, digital platforms and the mobile apps [4](https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1357957/VIDEO-Ahli-United-Bank-announces-its-new-identity-as-Kuwait%20Finance%20House). As part of the conversion, the bank sold its 35% stake in the conventional Ahli Bank Oman to Omani investors in February 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).

Ownership & operator

Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P. holds 100% of the bank's 11,147,931,458 shares, directly and indirectly [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). The parent was incorporated in Kuwait on 23 March 1977, holds an Islamic banking licence from the Central Bank of Kuwait, and is listed on Boursa Kuwait and the Bahrain Bourse [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).

On 10 November 2025 the bank sold its subsidiary Ahli United Company W.L.L., which held the parent's shares on its behalf, to the parent for US$ 1.9 billion. It booked a US$ 259 million gain [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). Hamad Abdulmohsen Al-Marzouq chairs both the parent and the Bahraini bank, and Shadi Zahran is the Bahraini bank's group CEO [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf) [3](https://kfh.com/en/home/Personal/news/2025/KFH-Unveils-New-Visual-Identity-of-Ahli-United-Bank-under-KFH---Bahrain.html). The bank operates under an Islamic retail banking licence from the CBB [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).

Technical integration

The KFH Bahrain app's listing names these features [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261):

• digital onboarding with a national ID for Bahraini citizens and GCC nationals;
• local transfers within Bahrain over Fawri and Fawri+, and international transfers;
• Fawateer bill payments;
• card controls, such as a temporary block;
• investments and KFH Trader, and buying, selling or requesting physical gold;
• Face ID and Touch ID login.

Fawri+ moves money between any two bank accounts in Bahrain within 30 seconds, and needs only the payee's IBAN [11](https://www.cbb.gov.bh/payment-settlement/). The bank's tariff of July 2025 makes Fawri+ transfers free up to BD 100, then 110 fils a transfer up to BD 1,000. Fawateer bill payments are free [7](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/KFH-TOCs-Mass-AR-EN-V2.pdf). The CBB raised the Fawri+ limit to BD 3,000 a day per account days later, on 21 July 2025 [17](https://www.newsofbahrain.com/business/115980.html).

Card wallets. The same tariff prices ATM cash withdrawals in Bahrain made with Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet or Garmin Pay. They cost 3.30% of the amount, at least BD 3.30. Withdrawals from other banks' ATMs over the BENEFIT switch are free [7](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/KFH-TOCs-Mass-AR-EN-V2.pdf).

Cross-border. The bank is on AFAQ for GCC transfers [9](https://www.cbb.gov.bh/media-center/the-central-bank-of-bahrain-introduces-afaq-gcc-rtgs-system). It launched Speed Remit, an international remittance service, in 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf), at BD 3.3 a transfer against BD 5.5 for a telegraphic transfer [7](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/KFH-TOCs-Mass-AR-EN-V2.pdf).

Users & growth

The bank doesn't publish customer or app-user counts. Its 2025 annual report says monthly active digital customers in Bahrain rose by more than 40% during the year. The app's ratings rose to 4.8 on iOS and 4.9 on Android [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). The Android app had more than 100,000 downloads in October 2026 [6](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aub.mobilebanking.bh).

Group figures for the end of 2025 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf):

Metric	2024	2025
Total assets (US$ billion)	27.1	29.0
Customers' accounts and quasi-equity (US$ billion)	12.3	12.7
Net profit (US$ million)	718.2	730.6
Branches (group)	79	78

21 of the 78 branches are in Bahrain [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).

Use cases

• Transfers and bills through Fawri, Fawri+ and Fawateer in the app [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261).
• Contactless and online card payments with Apple Pay, in shops, apps and Safari [8](https://www.newsofbahrain.com/business/76138.html).
• Remittances abroad through Speed Remit [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).
• Sharia-compliant financing. Applying for financing and cards in the app [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261). The social-housing portfolio reached US$ 281.2 million at the end of 2025 [10](https://www.euromoney.com/?p=130837).

Implementations & partners

• Card networks. The bank lists World, World Elite and Platinum credit cards [13](https://www.bh.kfh.com/). The World card is a Sharia-compliant World Mastercard [18](https://www.bh.kfh.com/personal/credit-cards/world-credit-card/).
• Wallets. Its cards work in Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet and Garmin Pay [7](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/KFH-TOCs-Mass-AR-EN-V2.pdf). See Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
• National rails. EFTS (Fawri, Fawri+, Fawateer), run by BENEFIT under CBB authorisation [11](https://www.cbb.gov.bh/payment-settlement/), and AFAQ [9](https://www.cbb.gov.bh/media-center/the-central-bank-of-bahrain-introduces-afaq-gcc-rtgs-system).

Fun facts

• In October 2026 the App Store still listed the KFH Bahrain app's seller as "AHLI UNITED BANK BSC (AUB)", fifteen months after the legal name changed [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261).
• The bank's 2025 report names "telecom-based digital wallets" and fintech lenders among the forces squeezing Bahrain's retail banks [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf).

Comparison

Bahrain's bank apps all reach the same EFTS rails, so the user's choice comes down to which bank holds their account. For transfers, most people use BenefitPay, which sent 455.3 million of 2025's 467.9 million Fawri+ transfers [12](https://www.tradearabia.com/News/389437/BENEFIT-records-nearly-%24100bn-in-e-transactions-across-all-transfer-services). App Store rating counts on 20 October 2026 give a rough sense of each app's reach:

App	Bank	iOS ratings
KFH Bahrain [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261)	Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain	1,955
BisB Mobile [14](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/bisb-mobile/id1296859186)	Bahrain Islamic Bank	2,461
BBK Mobile [15](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/bbk-mobile/id1557422819)	Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait	2,376
NBB [16](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/nbb/id1529224397)	National Bank of Bahrain	10,665

Rating counts are not user counts.

Status

Active. The bank finished its integration and rebranding in 2025, and its annual report names digital onboarding and faster customer interactions as retail priorities for 2026 [1](https://www.bh.kfh.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KFH-AR-2025-English-low.pdf). The KFH Bahrain app was last updated on 10 September 2026 [5](https://apps.apple.com/bh/app/kfh-bahrain/id771724261). Euromoney named it Bahrain's best Islamic bank for ESG in June 2026 [10](https://www.euromoney.com/?p=130837).

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from kfh-bahrain.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.