December 17th, 2020, London UK: Wahed Inc. (âWahedâ), a US-based Islamic-finance fintech company, today announced it will acquire Niyah Ltd, (âNiyahâ) a UK-based fintech that is creating a banking app and ethical financial platform catered to the Muslim community.
The move signals a leap forward in Wahedâs product expansion plans and its ambition to become the leading, âone-stop-shopâ for Shariah-compliant financial products and services.
Niyah, launched in an alpha release earlier this year, aims to help the underserved Muslim community in the UK and beyond to manage their money with ease and invest in line with their ethical values.
Wahedâs acquisition of Niyah will honour the firmâs commitment to service the UK market by offering customers access to interest-free financial products including digital bank accounts, debit cards and investments through an user-friendly mobile app. Once the digital bank is successfully launched in the UK, Wahed plans to expand its banking reach to other parts of the world, including North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The acquisition comes hot on the heels of Wahedâs most recent investment round led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures (also known as Waâed Ventures), a venture capital investment arm of Saudi Aramco.
Launched in 2017, Wahed delivers through its affiliated entities robo-advisor investment services catering to Muslims. The firm successfully balances the Shariah and modern investment theory, ensuring that its portfolios are not invested in companies which deal in restricted sectors including gambling, firearms and alcohol.
Wahed has made significant in-roads in the world of Islamic Finance by creating an easy to use digital platform, with free portfolio recommendation and no hidden fees. Available through its website or one seamless mobile app, Wahedâs services have already attracted over 100,000 customers in the US, UK, Malaysia and beyond.
Niyah will bring another value added service to Wahedâs fast growing customer base. Commenting on the acquisition, Junaid Wahedna, CEO of Wahed said: âWe are excited about welcoming Niyah to our business. Our vision of creating a parallel financial ecosystem that helps minimise wealth inequality is one step closer as clients will now be able to allow their savings to work for them without partaking in the traditional money lending infrastructure. Itâs a perfect fit for us and for our customers.â
He added: âOutside the Islamic world the UK has a long-standing reputation as a leading fintech hub and a major centre for Islamic finance. Acquiring Niyah and launching our first banking services here enables us to leverage the opportunities that Britainâs unique financial hub brings, and to tap into a wide and underserved customer base that is receptive to our service offering.â
The Islamic finance industry is forecast to grow to $3.8 trillion in assets by 2020, according to a 2017 ICD- Reuters report. The UK alone is home to over 3 million Muslims and boasts the biggest market for Islamic finance outside of majority Muslim geographies.
Ali Abdulkadir, CEO of Niyah said: âWe are delighted to have signed this deal with Wahed. The acquisition goes to the heart of the companyâs vision to continue to grow an Islamic finance marketplace that is driven by the needs of the consumer and their rising demands for ethical investments. Wahed has an excellent track record for delivering services to an underserved market, and with the support of Railsbank, it can continue to expand its banking offering beyond the UK.â
Customers interested in Niyahâs banking services can join the waitlist here.
About Wahed Inc.
Wahed Inc. is the parent company of Wahed Invest Ltd, which offers a Shariah-compliant robo-advisory platform in the United Kingdom. Wahed Inc. through its affiliated companies, provides access to Islamic value-based investing to residents of the US, UK and Malaysia and is licensed in 9 jurisdictions around the globe.
Niyah is a fintech startup focused on building financial products aimed at the Muslim community. We will be delivering our innovative solutions, from money management, budgeting, savings, investments, supporting charities, SME financing for businesses and insurance. We will be working closely with the community to deliver education, teach financial literacy, hear what they want from us and how we can work together to build a financial future for Muslims in the UK. Our first product is a banking app which enables our customers to manage their money and get instant notifications so that they donât overspend and stay on top of their finances. Through the Niyah ethical financial marketplace, we aim to provide the Muslim community with a single location to access all the different financial services that align with their values, reducing the need to do extensive research.
