Newswrap: Islamic finance
Fintech IOUPay awarded Sharia compliance certification; Indonesian Islamic bond auction raises $401 million; Moroccan bank markets new Islamic insurance product; Digital currency Islamic Coin gains fatwa, set to launch; and Malaysia’s Boustead Holdings Bhd and Turkiye’s Great East Capital to establish Islamic digital bank.
Fintech IOUPay awarded Sharia compliance certification
Malaysia-based fintech IOUPay has been granted Sharia Compliance certification by Tawafuq, an independent, global Sharia advisory firm, reported Stockhead. IOUpay Asia has also signed a merchant acquiring services agreement with Souqa Fintech, which trades as PayHalal, a Sharia-compliant payment gateway. The certification will enable IOUPay to target Malaysia’s Muslim population, develop ties with Islamic banks for installment plan-based consumer finance programmes, and will allow for regional expansion in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian Islamic bond auction raises $401 million
Indonesia has raised 6.025 trillion rupiah ($401.93 million) in an Islamic bonds auction, reported Reuters, although is below the anticipated target of 7 trillion rupiah. Reuters said that “total incoming bids were 12.75 trillion rupiah, lower than the 15.77 trillion rupiah of bids in the previous June 28 sukuk auction”.
Moroccan bank markets new Islamic insurance product
Sharia-compliant Bank Al Yousr,a subsidiary of Moroccan banking group Banque Centrale Populaire, has launched Takaful Al Yousr, reported Ecofin Agency. The product, covering death and disability, was launched in partnership with Islamic insurance firm Taawouniyate Taamine Takafuli. In June this year, the Moroccan Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare issued approval to Bank Al Yousr and five other Islamic banks to market Islamic Insurance products.
Digital currency Islamic Coin gains fatwa, set to launch
Sharia-compliant digital currency Islamic Coin has been issued a fatwa by leading Islamic scholars, including Sheikh Dr. Nizam Mohammed Saleh Yaquby. Islamic Coin, which uses ISLM as its ticker, is the native currency of the Haqq Blockchain, according to PRNewswire. The fatwa was issued based on its use of proof-of-stake mining, dedication to charity and the decentralized nature of the ISLM coin. Cision reported that Islamic Coin “deposits 10% of each issuance into a special Evergreen DAO for further investment into Islam-related ventures or donated to Muslim charities”. The Sharia board includes Dr. Mohamed Zoeir and Dr. Essam Khalaf Al-Enezi, among others. The currency is set to launch this year.
Malaysia’s Boustead Holdings Bhd and Turkiye’s Great East Capital to establish Islamic digital bank
Malaysia’s Boustead Holdings Bhd and Great East Capital (GEC) are to establish Turkiye’s first Islamic digital bank. Boustead is to make a strategic investment in the new bank, with GEC in the process of applying for a digital banking licence from Turkish regulators, reported The Star. Boustead also plans to create a sister digital bank in Malaysia that “shares technology, customers, financial tools and know-how across the two countries”.
"With Boustead’s experience and expertise through Affin Islamic Bank, Boustead hopes to be able to share Malaysia’s expertise and knowledge to Europe, if not, the rest of the world. Our partnership with GEC will be our stepping stone into the huge Europe market,” said Boustead’s deputy group managing director Izaddeen Daud, to reporters.
