Malaysia-based Split, a Shariah-certified buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech provider, has onboarded Muslim lifestyle app TheNoor, offering the latter’s 2.2 million customers access to Riba-free point-of-sale financing for e-commerce transactions.
The integration of a BNPL service by TheNoor is in line with a global online shopping boom, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove the phenomenal adoption of BNPL. The global BNPL industry stood at about US$90.69 billion in 2020, according to Allied Market Research which predicted that the sector would hit US$3.98 trillion by 2030. That would translate to a cumulative annual growth rate of 45.7% from 2021 to 2030.
With its interest-free model, fintech entrepreneurs are seeing the potential in catering to the Muslim market, with more getting their processes certified Shariah compliant such as Tabby and Tamara, both in Saudi Arabia. Regional BNPL platform Atome earlier in April rolled out a Shariah compliant BNPL service in partnership with Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic payment gateway PayHalal.
Split received a Shariah stamp of approval from Masryef Advisory last July. Since its founding in late 2019, the start-up, which first began as a provider of instalment payments for flights, has grown its merchant base to over 1,000.
“Split’s model stands out in the fast-growing BNPL space where their users do not get charged interest or any other fees. With Split’s Shariah-certified compliance, TheNoor’s users will have the confidence knowing that they are using a payment method that adheres to their religious beliefs,” commented Khairil Anuar, Masryef Advisory’s principal.