Halal Finance Guide

Products

What actually exists in the UK.

Names change, boards change, apps close. Use this as a map, then read the current Key Facts and Shariah report.

  • United Kingdom · Banks

    Al Rayan Bank

    The main retail Islamic bank in Britain. Current accounts, expected-profit savings, and Home Purchase Plans on diminishing musharakah.

    PRA-authorised, FSCS-eligible. Savings use wakala / murabaha structures with an expected profit rate. Always read the current Shariah board report, not a 2019 blog post.

  • United Kingdom · Banks

    Gatehouse Bank

    Shariah-compliant savings and home finance, often distributed through savings platforms as well as direct.

    Compare the expected profit rate with Al Rayan on the same term, then read whether the account is wakala. Platform listings can look like conventional bonds in a comparison table — they are not.

  • United Kingdom · Banks

    Bank of London and The Middle East

    Wholesale and specialist Islamic banking rather than a high-street current account.

    Relevant if you are a business or introducer. Not a substitute for a day-to-day retail bank.

  • United Kingdom · Home finance

    StrideUp

    A co-ownership style path onto the housing ladder, marketed with a Shariah-compliant option.

    Treat it as a legal structure first. Confirm co-ownership, how rent is set, how you buy extra share, and what happens on default. First keys January 2022; HPP up to 90% FTV; public sukuk backed by the book (~£307m, per the founder). Documents still decide.

    Documents change. Get a solicitor who has completed this product.

  • United Kingdom · Home finance

    Offa

    Islamic property-finance fintech. FCA-authorised for Home Purchase Plans in March 2025 — the third active HPP provider, and the first new licence in more than seven years.

    HPP, buy-to-let, bridge, and bridge-to-let. Certified by Amanah Advisors (Mufti Faraz Adam). Bought Bank of Ireland’s Alburaq book (350+ plans). A Q3 2026 street card had them at 4.50% — a snapshot, not your offer. Family-assist and paperless process are distribution, not a ruling.

  • United Kingdom · Home finance

    Al Rayan Home Purchase Plan

    The most widely known UK diminishing-musharakah home finance.

    Expect a higher headline rate than a high-street mortgage, a smaller broker panel, and a solicitor who has done HPPs. HMRC treats a properly structured HPP so you are not paying SDLT twice on the bank’s share.

  • United Kingdom · Home finance

    Gatehouse home finance

    Home Purchase Plan alternative to Al Rayan for some borrower profiles and regions.

    Availability is patchy by postcode and property type (flats, new-build, ex-local authority). Price both, then read late-payment and early-settlement clauses side by side.

  • UK / global · Investing

    Wahed

    Shariah-compliant robo-advisor. Portfolios of screened equities, sukuk, and gold.

    Fees are the story after the screen. Check the UK entity, FCA authorisation, and whether your wrapper is an ISA. Robo-allocation does not replace reading the purification policy.

  • United Kingdom · Investing

    HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index

    A common Shariah equity fund inside UK workplace pensions and platforms.

    It screens a developed-market index. That is not “the whole market”. Emerging markets, small caps, and sukuk are missing unless you add them. Still vastly better than a default global fund full of banks.

  • Global · Investing

    iShares MSCI World Islamic

    ETF on the MSCI World Islamic index — a liquid way to hold screened large caps.

    Index methodology (business + financial ratios) is published by MSCI. Purification is your job unless the share class does it. Watch the TER and tracking difference against a non-Islamic world ETF; the gap is the cost of the screen, plus sector bias away from financials.

  • US / global · Investing

    Saturna Amana / Saturna funds

    Long-running Shariah-screened mutual funds, often used as a reference portfolio.

    US-domiciled. UK investors usually need a platform that holds them, or an equivalent UCITS. History is useful; past screens do not bind the next annual report.

  • United Kingdom · Investing

    NEST Shariah fund

    The Islamic option inside the National Employment Savings Trust.

    If your employer uses NEST, you can usually switch from the default into this. Do it. Then leave contributions running. This is the highest-leverage click in UK halal finance for people who have never opened the pension login.

  • United Kingdom · Takaful

    Salaam / UK takaful attempts

    Retail takaful has appeared and disappeared in Britain more than once.

    Before you buy, confirm the operator is live, FCA-authorised, and actually using a tabarru pool. If no takaful exists for a legally required cover, see the takaful guide on necessity.

    Do not assume a brand you remember from 2018 still underwrites.

  • United Kingdom · Fintech

    Niyah and similar fintech

    App-based Islamic money products — cards, round-ups, sometimes accounts.

    Fintech is a wrapper. Ask: where is the money held, who is the Shariah advisor, is there interest on the float, what happens if they fail. Prefer PRA-authorised banks for the core salary pot.

    Apps can close. Your rent cannot.