For decades, loyalty in GCC banking has meant premium privileges: airline miles, travel benefits, and lifestyle rewards tied to a strong card relationship. Familiar, effective, and well-understood. But as competition intensifies and digital ecosystems redefine everyday value, that model alone is no longer enough. GCC banks are exploring a broader set of approaches to deepen relationships and protect economics.
Why rethink loyalty now?
The salary relationship is won, but rarely deepened. Winning the salary transfer still establishes the primary banking relationship, but customers freely choose different providers for cards, loans, payments, and investments. The challenge has shifted from acquiring the relationship to growing it.
Competitive dynamics are shifting. Careem Plus, e& Smiles, and Revolut are setting new benchmarks by embedding loyalty into everyday life. Incumbents like Liv. by Emirates NBD show the response doesn’t require abandoning what banks do well. It requires doing it smarter.
Funding models are evolving. As card fees compress and alternative payment ecosystems expand, banks are diversifying toward merchant co-investment, subscription revenue, and balance-linked rewards rather than relying on interchange alone.
Top of wallet is contested. GCC customers hold multiple cards across several banks. Loyalty must recognise the full banking relationship across deposits, lending, wealth, and payments to win everyday preference and drive cross-sell.
The five models GCC banks are testing
1. Points-based
Still the backbone of many programmes. The evolution is moving beyond transaction-linked miles toward whole-of-bank recognition, rewarding product depth, balance growth, and tenure alongside spend. ADCB TouchPoints is the clearest regional example.
2. Cashback
Immediate and clear in value. Works best when anchored to the salary relationship, rewarding tenure and deposit growth rather than generic transaction volume. Builds habit but rarely builds deep emotional loyalty on its own.
3. Merchant-funded offers
Partner-led deals create everyday relevance at low cost. Liv., FAB Rewards, and e& Smiles show what is possible when lifestyle partnerships connect to daily spending. The risk is offer fatigue if relevance slips.
4. Tiered programmes
The most natural fit for the GCC, where premium recognition is expected. Tiers that reward relationship depth, balances, product breadth, and tenure reflect how GCC customers think about banking status. Transparency in qualification is critical.
5. Subscriptions
Careem Plus has proven that subscription value can drive habitual engagement well beyond traditional points. For banks, subscriptions offer predictable revenue and a natural framework for bundling travel privileges, fee waivers, and partner benefits. Constant refreshing is needed to prevent churn.
What this means for GCC banks
1. Connect loyalty to the moments that matter.
GCC banks possess rich data across salary flows, spend patterns, deposit growth, and life-stage signals. The challenge is turning that knowledge into timely action. Banks that trigger loyalty around salary credits, savings milestones, and financing events will build far deeper engagement than any points catalogue.
2. Segment deliberately.
Affluent customers respond to tiered recognition and lifestyle bundles. Mass-market and younger segments engage better through cashback and merchant offers. A significant expat population adds another dimension, with distinct expectations around cross-border payments and international travel benefits. One size underperforms.
3. Build for modularity.
Loyalty should be a platform, not a standalone programme. Modularising points, tiers, merchant offers, and subscriptions allows faster evolution and greater scale without rebuilding each time.
4. Diversify the funding model.
Blended funding, merchant co-investment, balance-linked benefits, and subscription revenue protects economics while delivering differentiated value. Points-only models face growing pressure as card economics evolve.
5. Act fast, then iterate.
Careem, e&, and Revolut are already reshaping customer expectations. The winning approach is to launch with one or two models and build from there, rather than wait for a perfect design.
In conclusion
The next wave of loyalty in the GCC will be defined not by richer rewards, but by deeper recognition. The winners will be banks that understand the full customer relationship and act in the moments that matter.
