Sharjah Islamic Bank has announced the launch of 0% profit financing service for Hajj under the theme "Perform Hajj this year and pay it off over the year with no profit".

The innovative service, the first-of-its-kind to be offered by an Islamic bank in the UAE, will enable a lot of people to perform Hajj and pay back the cost via easy and affordable monthly installments for one year without any profit, fees or extra costs.

Jassem Mohammed Al Baloushi, Head of SIB’s Retail Banking Group, said: "The launch of an Islamic financing service for Hajj without any profit or fee is part of our commitment to catering to the consumer’s demand for Islamic products, and of our role as a national Islamic bank committed to community development by launching products that serve the social, health, educational and spiritual aspects of society. In addition to the fact that enabling our clients to perform Hajj is part of the teachings and principles of Islamic Share’a, which constitutes the core of the bank’s values".

"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", he added.

Al Baloushi explained that the Bank has selected a number of reputed Hajj and Umrah agencies through which the new 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 be 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). He added that the Bank is keen to launch more innovative services to attract new clients and better serve existing ones, and that the "Perform Hajj this year and pay it off over the year with no profit" service is part of a series of 0% profit financing services SIB is planning to launch in the near future.

Sharjah Islamic Bank was the first bank in the UAE to successfully convert from traditional banking to Islamic banking in 2002, offering a wide range of Shari’a-compliant services and international banking to individuals, establishments, institutions and investors. Through well-placed risk management strategies SIB has managed to achieve an unprecedented growth rate, launching 23 branches throughout the UAE, in addition to over 100 strategically-located ATM machines in residential areas, shopping centres and entertainment centres.