A new digital financial services provider, called Ethos, has launched in the UK to offer Shariah-compliant services to Muslims.
Ethos is tapping cloud-based core banking technology from Thought Machine to provide real-time Shariah-compliant financial services via mobile devices. The new venture will debut with a Shariah-compliant deposit account (Mudaraba structure) and a Home Purchase Plan mortgage (Musharakah and Ijarah structure).Thought Machine says its collection of pre-built financial products will enable Ethos to deliver a comprehensive range of expertly designed Shariah-compliant products. While it will initially target UK-based Muslims, Ethos says it plans to expand to other "ethically-minded" groups and to new countries, such as Saudi Arabia.Hasan Raza, CEO, Ethos, says: "We assessed all the next-generation vendors in the market, and Vault Core offered the high availability, performance, flexibility, and personalisation required to provide customers with modern banking benefits while honouring their community traditions."Paul Taylor, CEO, Thought Machine, adds: "Ethos is set to deliver a groundbreaking banking service tailored to specific community needs and values. With product excellence embedded in Vault Core’s DNA, Ethos can provide modern, Shariah-compliant banking services without compromise."