We’ve now built 70% of everything. We have a BSB and a SWIFT code, already and we were almost on the verge of testing with real customers.

You may have heard recently that we returned our banking licence to APRA, the Australian banking regulator.  In order to maintain a banking licence, a company needs to hold a minimum amount of capital in the bank.

Raising capital in the current world environment has been extremely challenging for many businesses. Unfortunately, raising the capital that we needed has occurred slower than we had hoped. As a result, we took the decision to proactively return our banking licence to APRA so that we could continue to invest in building our systems and IT platform.

We acted in absolute good faith, and as a result, we can and will apply again once we have raised the required capital again.

We had always intended to raise more capital anyway (to launch the bank), and so we’re doing that right now anyway.  We’re still building now in any case.  We continue forward!

In the meantime, we are incredibly grateful for your support.  We’re still working incredibly hard to launch as soon as we can.

In the meantime, please subscribe to our waiting list and we’ll keep you updated.

We’re still excited about our journey!

We’re aiming to launch in 2025.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When are you likely to launch?

We have already built 70% of the business, so we’re targeting to launch in late 2025.  You can join our waiting list and we’ll keep you updated.

Are you still planning to launch?

Yes!  As soon as we have raised the required capital, we intend to reapply again for our licence.  We have already told the regulator that we intend to do this.

Why did you return your banking licence?

It is important to always act appropriately when running a bank, and one of the key rules is maintaining sufficient capital (basically cash) in your business.

Rather than have a breach, we proactively returned our restricted ADI banking licence to APRA on Friday 1 March 2024.  We wanted to continue building, and we intend to apply again once we have raised more capital.

Did you breach your licensing conditions?

No, we did not. As soon as it became apparent that a breach of capital requirements could not be avoided, APRA was notified and we voluntarily requested revocation of our licence.  This is in line with the ethical nature in which we run our business. 

This also means we can apply again once we are ready.

Why have you changed your name to Islamic Money?

In returning our Restricted ADI licence to APRA, we are no longer a bank. Only licensed entities in Australia are allowed to use the word “bank”, and so we have removed this from our name until we hold an authorisation again. 

How much capital do you need?

We are currently seeking to raise $40 million from the market to carry us through to launch and beyond.  We’re confident of raising this money, and will keep you updated.

All journeys are challenging, but we’re absolutely committed to delivering this for the Australian Islamic community.