Sharia law requires that Muslim people cannot pay or receive interest . In order to comply with Sharia, consumer banking has set up services for Muslim customers. Sharia car finance, for instance, is offered in a different way to usual, as are home loans and bank accounts .

Sharia finance is offered by a variety of different lenders and financial services groups including HSBC, Lloyds, and West Bromwich Building Society . The different options allow Muslims a loophole in the Islamic law that dictates that they may not take or give interest on anything.

Some Sharia car finance is conducted in the same way HSBC offers mortgages to Muslim people. The bank buys the house jointly with the customer, and it is then held in trust. The customer pays rent and over time gradually buys the house from the bank. The way of doing business allows greater freedom of choice for Muslims.

In some instances, taking out car finance in this manner could result in better rates of ‘interest’ spread over the life of the ‘loan.’