Borrow
Sharia-compliant financing options remain elusive for those who need them
Borrow
Sharia-compliant financing options remain elusive for those who need them
Australia’s financial sector is failing to give Aussie Muslims the products and services they’re asking for.
Sharia-compliant financing options remain elusive for those who need them
Australia’s financial sector is failing to give Aussie Muslims the products and services they’re asking for.
The local finance sector’s tendency to underserve the Australian Muslim community could be a ripe opportunity for those willing to seize it.
According to research by Hejaz Financial Services, as much as 36 per cent of Australian Muslims opt to hold onto savings in cash due to the lack of Sharia-compliant products and services.
Hejaz Financial Services CEO Hakan Ozyon said that Muslim Australians have excellent savings habits but are broadly underserviced by traditional financial product providers.
“It’s almost 2022 – Muslims shouldn’t have to stuff money in their mattresses, forego interest on their superannuation or struggle to save enough cash to purchase a home outright like I had to,” he said.
Speaking to nestegg, Mr Ozyon said that Australia’s 1.2 million Muslims are “typically well-educated and great at saving”.
“They save, spend and invest like regular Aussies, so are perfect customers for banks. But traditional finance providers are going to be hard-pressed to capture this market opportunity because their business models are inherently based around interest, which is philosophically opposed to Halal,” he said.
Mr Ozyon said that many Australian Muslims are avoiding essential financial products like savings accounts and insurance because of a lack of Sharia-compliant options.
Hejaz found that 46 per cent of surveyed Australian Muslims who took out a mortgage did so reluctantly. Forty-three per cent of that figure said that they chose not to hold any additional insurance products because of religious reasons.
In contrast, 62 per cent of Australian Muslims said they’d be open to switching at least one of their current financial products to an Islamic Financial Services Provider.
Hejaz Financial Services is looking to capitalise on that opportunity. The company is currently in the process of applying for a restricted ADI licence with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
If this application is successful, Hejaz will become the first Islamic bank in Australia to offer Sharia-compliant personal loans, savings accounts and card offerings to both Muslim and non-Muslim customers.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent of those surveyed believed that not enough was being done to educate Aussie Muslims about their financial options.
While three-quarters of Australian Muslims said that their faith was very important to them, just 15 per cent of those who used a traditional mortgage broker were not aware of the fact that a typical mortgage is forbidden under Islam.
Pointing to this lack of financial literacy, Mr Ozyon argued that there is a clear appetite in Islamic community for proactive financial management advice.
Hejaz said that 40 per cent of surveyed Aussie Muslims said they were looking to educate themselves through financial resources, while 23 per cent said that they were currently seeking help from a financial adviser.
“Financial advisers need to be more cognisant, ask the right questions, and service the unique needs of their individual customers,” Mr Ozyon said.
“It worries me that so many Australians still feel they need to sacrifice their beliefs for their financial future.”
RELATED ARTICLES
-
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
-
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
-
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
About the author
About the author
Loans
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
Australian home loan interest has rebounded even as households lean harder on cards and personal loans — a classic late‑cycle signal that demands sharper risk, pricing and AI executionRead more
Loans
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
In a market where products look interchangeable, credibility has become the most defensible asset in mortgage broking. With broker channel share hitting record highs and AI reshaping client ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
Australia’s mortgage stress has eased to its lowest level since early 2023, creating a rare—likely brief—window for lenders, brokers and fintechs to reset risk and rebuild growth. This case study ...Read more
Loans
Why ANZ’s tougher stance on company-borrowed home loans matters: A case study in risk recalibration, competition, and what CFOs should do next
ANZ has tightened mortgage credit parameters for loans where a company or trust is the borrower—an apparently narrow policy tweak with wide operational consequences. It signals a broader recalibration ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage 2026: Australia’s share‑of‑wallet war will be won on switching, data rights and AI discipline
The defining feature of Australia’s 2026 mortgage market won’t be house prices; it will be switching velocity. With competition reforms sharpening the Consumer Data Right, lenders and brokers that ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage remorse reshapes the game: Australia's lending squeeze set to redefine banking and household demand
A growing cohort of Australians is rethinking recent home loan decisions as higher repayments collide with household budgets. This isn’t just consumer angst; it’s an economy-wide red flag for lenders, ...Read more
Loans
Aussie mortgage game-changer: Brokers dominate while AI sharpens the edge
Mortgage brokers now originate roughly three in four new Australian home loans, a structural shift that rewires bank economics, product strategy and customer acquisition. MFAA data shows broker market ...Read more
Loans
Fixing the future: How brokers and lenders can turn rate-hike anxiety into strategic advantage
Australian borrowers are leaning into short-term fixed loans as rate uncertainty lingers, shifting risk from households to lenders and their funding partners. That creates a narrow window for broker ...Read more
Loans
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
Australian home loan interest has rebounded even as households lean harder on cards and personal loans — a classic late‑cycle signal that demands sharper risk, pricing and AI executionRead more
Loans
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
In a market where products look interchangeable, credibility has become the most defensible asset in mortgage broking. With broker channel share hitting record highs and AI reshaping client ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
Australia’s mortgage stress has eased to its lowest level since early 2023, creating a rare—likely brief—window for lenders, brokers and fintechs to reset risk and rebuild growth. This case study ...Read more
Loans
Why ANZ’s tougher stance on company-borrowed home loans matters: A case study in risk recalibration, competition, and what CFOs should do next
ANZ has tightened mortgage credit parameters for loans where a company or trust is the borrower—an apparently narrow policy tweak with wide operational consequences. It signals a broader recalibration ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage 2026: Australia’s share‑of‑wallet war will be won on switching, data rights and AI discipline
The defining feature of Australia’s 2026 mortgage market won’t be house prices; it will be switching velocity. With competition reforms sharpening the Consumer Data Right, lenders and brokers that ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage remorse reshapes the game: Australia's lending squeeze set to redefine banking and household demand
A growing cohort of Australians is rethinking recent home loan decisions as higher repayments collide with household budgets. This isn’t just consumer angst; it’s an economy-wide red flag for lenders, ...Read more
Loans
Aussie mortgage game-changer: Brokers dominate while AI sharpens the edge
Mortgage brokers now originate roughly three in four new Australian home loans, a structural shift that rewires bank economics, product strategy and customer acquisition. MFAA data shows broker market ...Read more
Loans
Fixing the future: How brokers and lenders can turn rate-hike anxiety into strategic advantage
Australian borrowers are leaning into short-term fixed loans as rate uncertainty lingers, shifting risk from households to lenders and their funding partners. That creates a narrow window for broker ...Read more
