HBL Introduces Islamic Branchless Banking Account

Habib Bank Limited has introduced Konnect Islamic Account through its branchless banking platform Konnect by HBL to enhance the penetration of banking services in the lower-income and unbanked segment of the society with limited needs of financial services. This is the second attempt by any bank to launch the Islamic version of branchless banking. Previously, Meezan Bank in collaboration with Ufone had made an attempt to introduce the world’s first Islamic branchless banking services MeezanUpaisa but it did not succeed due to issues of operations and interest. Konnect Islamic Account is a Sharia-compliant and RIBA-free account that a customer can open through the Konnect mobile app or via any of the 46,000+ Konnect agent network present nationwide.  Customers can easily register for the account with an active mobile number and CNIC and the customers’ mobile number becomes their account number. Through the Konnect Islamic Account, customers could avail several services including Bill payment, mobile top-up, institutional payments, and funds transfers and it also has an Islamic Debit Card offering. The penetration of Islamic banking has increased significantly in Pakistan during the last ten years and this Islamic Branchless banking initiative will further enhance the footprint of banking services in Pakistan.