UAE’s first 0% profit Haj financing service launched

A leading Islamic bank in the UAE has launched a zero per cent profit financing service for Haj, which will enable people faced with “lack of liquidity and difficulties in finding financing sources” to perform pilgrimage and pay back over a year without any profit.

Announced on Saturday by Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), the service, perform Haj this year and pay it off over the year with no profit, was will enable a lot of people to perform the pilgrimage and pay back the cost in affordable monthly instalments over one year without any profit, fees or extra costs, the bank’s media statement said.

SIB claims that the service is the first-of-its-kind to be offered by an Islamic bank in the country.

“The concept of the project has been developed following a number of field studies conducted by the bank, which concluded that the market is currently in urgent need of such a service, in time of lack of liquidity and difficulties in finding financing sources for all activities,” said Jassem Mohammed Al Baloushi, Head of SIB’s Retail Banking Group.

Al Baloushi explained that SIB has selected a number of reputed Haj and Umrah agencies through which the service will be available for clients. These agencies will pay a commission to the bank in return for promotion through the advertising campaign of SIB, on condition that no additional fees are imposed on clients.

The list of approved agencies includes Taiba Hajj and Umrah (Sharjah), Al Matroshi Hajj and Umrah (Ajman), AlSidrah Hajj and Umrah (Al Ain), AlRuwad Hajj and Umrah (Abu Dhabi), Al Jern Hajj and Umrah (Fujairah), and AlRuwad Hajj and Umrah (Dubai).

Al Baloushi said that the bank is keen to launch more innovative services to attract new clients and better serve existing ones, and that the latest service is part of a series of zero per cent profit financing services SIB is planning to launch in the near future.

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