Australia’s Hejaz launches halal investment app

Australian Islamic financial services provider Hejaz has launched a financial app to offer Shariah-compliant financial services to the country’s growing Muslim community.

The Halal Money app provides features tailored to the needs of Muslim investors, including Sharia-compliant superannuation services, home loans, auto finance and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that would otherwise be forbidden.

Hejaz has teamed up with Bahrain’s ruling family to launch a regional HQ in Bahrain, in tandem with the Australian launch. 

The move facilitates Hejaz's expansion into the UK and European markets, leveraging Bahrain as a springboard for its global growth, the company said in a statement. 

Currently, two billion Muslims worldwide hold $4.5 trillion in assets yet face slim pickings in terms of investment options with financial institutions that offer Shariah-compliant services. 

Muslims comprise 3.2% of Australia’s approximately 25.5 million people in 2021, according to the country’s latest census data. 

“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 underserviced in this regard for decades, including in Australia,” said Hakan Ozyon, founder and CEO of Hejaz Group.  

The platform aims to democratise access to halal investments and provide a user-friendly interface for managing Islamic finance portfolios in one single app, he added. 

“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.”