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Almost half of Muslim consumers haven’t used Shariah-compliant finance

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
24/07/2019

Report finds that the Islamic finance industry need to raise more awareness of its products

Nearly half of Muslim consumers (46%) have never used Shariah-compliant products, according to Gatehouse Bank.

And the figure rises to 53% among Muslim women.

A report by the bank highlights that the industry needs to work harder to raise awareness – with two-thirds of Muslim consumers finding it hard to purchase Islamic finance products.

The study found that, while 71% of people surveyed thought that Islamic finance was trustworthy and ethical, 62% thought it was hard to compare options.

Sources of information

Friends, family and colleagues are the most common sources of information among those who have never used Islamic finance, with over a third (34%) of those yet to use Shariah-compliant products hearing about it through these channels.

Almost three in 10 (28%) read about it on the internet, almost two-fifths (18%) learned about it from social media, while 14% heard about it on Muslim-specific media including TV, radio and podcasts, the report found.

Beyond their community, interested consumers also value the opinions of faith leaders – with 33% relying on Islamic scholars, and 32% seeking the advice of Muslim financial experts.

Positive experience

An overwhelming 85% of existing Islamic finance consumers said that their experience exceeded their expectations.

Charles Haresnape, CEO of Gatehouse Bank, said: “Our report highlights that providers of Shariah-compliant finance are missing out because of a largely untapped market for their products.

“If nearly half of all Muslim consumers have never used Islamic finance that means hundreds of thousands of potential customers are waiting to be reached.

“A key lesson is that we and the whole industry need to do a better job of reaching out to the Muslim community and explaining the benefits of Shariah-compliant products.”