Islamic financial services provider Hejaz has launched Australia’s first halal financial app to offer Australia’s growing Muslim community convenient and straightforward access to a broad range of Shariah-compliant financial products and services.

The Halal Money app has rapidly gained over 15,000 downloads in the first weeks of its beta launch, and Hejaz expects it to be embraced by Muslims nationwide. Currently, 2 billion Muslims across the globe hold $4.5 trillion in assets yet lack choice when it comes to investing with financial institutions that provide services compliant with Shariah law.

While earning interest is generally prohibited under Islamic law, Australian Muslims can still invest in assets that provide beneficial gains, provided these investments adhere to Shariah law. This may include certain types of superannuation funds or other investment vehicles that are structured to comply with Islamic financial principles. To cater for this, the app provides a range of features tailored to the needs of Muslim investors, including Sharia-compliant superannuation services, home loans, auto finance, and even exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that would otherwise be forbidden.

Parallel to the Australia launch, Hejaz has also struck a deal with the ruling family of Bahrain, The House of Khalifa, and its government to launch a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) headquarters in Bahrain and catapult the app into Muslim homes internationally.

Founder and CEO of Hejaz, Hakan Ozyon, said, “The Muslim community, like all other communities globally, must be empowered to have values-aligned access to finances, payment infrastructure, and investment opportunities. And yet, this growing global market has been underserved in this regard for decades, including in Australia. We are empowering Muslims across the country to invest and manage their wealth in alignment with their faith using technology. The platform aims to democratise access to Halal investments and provide a user-friendly interface for managing Islamic finance portfolios all under one roof. We’re not like the big four banks that have a million apps for every service they offer; with the Hejaz app, you can spend, invest, and save all in one. So, we’re not just launching an app; we’re pioneering a new era of accessible, Shariah-compliant financial services for Muslims Australia-wide, marking a significant milestone in the FinTech industry.”