User experience in Saudi mobile banking: A comparative sentiment analysis of iOS and Android applications

Mobile banking in Saudi Arabia has experienced rapid growth driven by the government’s digital transformation efforts under Saudi Vision 2030, which has prompted the adoption of innovative technologies to improve service delivery across digital financial transformation. User reviews assessments are instrumental in gauging the success of mobile banking applications (apps). Utilizing sentiment analysis allows banking providers to convert customer feedback into actionable insights, which can help improve their services, attract new customers, and retain current customers. In this study, we conducted a comparative sentiment analysis of mobile banking apps in Saudi Arabia across iOS and Android platforms. We systematically analyzed 15,459 iOS and 230,734 Android user reviews in multiple languages from 10 leading Saudi banks. Utilizing a pre-trained sentiment model, we classified user sentiments into three categories: positive, negative, and neutral. Our findings revealed notable discrepancies in user satisfaction among the various banks on iOS and Android platforms. Alrajhi Bank consistently received the strongest positive sentiment on Android, while Banque Saudi Fransi and Saudi Investment Bank received substantial negative feedback on both platforms. Markedly, The Arab National Bank demonstrated high user satisfaction on iOS but faced considerable dissatisfaction on Android. A temporal analysis from 2022 to 2023 indicated improvements in some apps, such as Alinma Bank on iOS, while others, such as the Arab National Bank on Android, were associated with declining user satisfaction. These insights underscore the requirement for bank providers to formulate platform-specific strategies; banks must conduct continuous user feedback reviews. Banks are expected to apply iterative improvements to enhance user experience. Saudi banks should resolve identified pain points by capitalizing on user feedback to strengthen customer loyalty while competitiveness persists in the evolving digital financial landscape.