Nester launches first Shariah-compliant IFISA
Peer-to-peer lending platform Nester has launched the UK’s first Shariah-compliant Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) after lobbying for a change in the law.
Nester now manages the only Islamic fixed income investment product in the UK that can be wrapped in an IFISA.
The platform’s existing investors can open an IFISA account with a minimum investment of £1,000. Target returns are nine per cent per year, and all investments are secured on UK real estate.
The IFISA launch comes a year after Nester revealed that it had been lobbying HMRC to change its tax rules to allow it to launch a Shariah-compliant IFISA.
At the time, founder and chief executive Youness Abidou said his platform approached HMRC with a draft amendment to its tax laws to accommodate Islamic finance in P2P lending and allow Nester to launch an IFISA.
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Alongside the IFISA launch, the platform has also rolled out a new mobile app, which enables investors to make direct investments into their IFISA and non-IFISA accounts. It is available for both Apple and Android phones.
Nester officially launched to investors in April 2022, as the first directly-authorised Shariah-compliant P2P lending platform.
It provides buy-to-let, refurbishment and bridge financing for corporates and offers investors returns of up to nine per cent, secured on UK property.
Read more: Nester: ‘More financial inclusion’ could have saved SVB