Australian Muslims Broadly Underserved by Traditional Financial Product Providers

MELBOURNE, Australia, July 11, 2022 (Newswire.com) - According to Islamic finance experts, Hejaz Financial Services, the local finance industry provides a lack of halal finance options, which means the Australian Muslim community is vastly underserved. The halal home loan providers conducted research last year which uncovered the shortcomings of traditional finance providers in Australia.

The research revealed 36 per cent of Australian Muslims choose to keep their savings in cash because of the lack of Islam finance options. Hejaz Financial Services CEO, Hakan Ozyon, explains that Australia's 1.2 million Muslims often struggle to save enough cash to purchase a home outright and the 46 per cent of those surveyed who have taken out a mortgage were reluctant to do so, as it didn't align with their faith.

As well as difficulties in accessing certified Sharia loans, Hejaz Financial Services says many Australian Muslims are avoiding essential financial products, including savings accounts and insurance, due to a lack of authentic compliant financial products and services.

Traditional finance providers are failing to capture the market opportunity due to their business models being based around interest, which is opposed to halal. The survey found that 62 per cent of Australian Muslims would be open to switching at least one of their financial products to an Islamic financial services provider. 

Hejaz Financial Services is on a mission to fill the gap by delivering a broad range of Islamic financial services. The underlying objective is to provide an Islamically permissible alternative without compromising the integrity of the product or service.

Currently in the process of applying to becoming the first Australian, fully digital Islamic bank, the company is also seeking to better educate Aussie Muslims about their financial options. Hejaz Financial Services says the Islamic community is in need of proactive financial management advice, with 40 per cent of survey respondents indicating they were looking to educate themselves through financial resources and 23 per cent currently seeking help from a financial advisor.

Providing a wealth of Islamic financial resources including information regarding Halal loans, Hejaz Financial Services has an online help centre or can be contacted directly with any questions. For more information call us now on 1300 043 529

Source: Hejaz Financial Services