Aramco-backed fintech opens bank branch in London to help Muslims invest

Key Points

• Wahed, a fintech startup backed by oil giant Saudi Aramco and French soccer player Paul Pogba, debuted its own retail presence in the U.K. Tuesday.
• The branch resembles an Apple store and is positioned just opposite an HSBC bank branch on Baker Street.
• It aims to provide the U.K.'s 3.9 million Muslims with advice on investments that comply with Sharia law.

Islamic fintech startup Wahed has opened its first physical branch on Baker Street in London. The glossy retail location is designed to look like an Apple store.

Wahed

An investing platform backed by the likes of oil giant Saudi Aramco and French soccer player Paul Pogba is launching a novel proposition in the U.K.: a physical branch and bank accounts backed by gold.

New York-based Wahed, which describes itself as a "halal investing platform," has opened a branch in the U.K. in a bid to target the country's 3.9 million Muslims with a sharia-compliant investment management and advice service.

The glossy retail location has a similar design to an Apple store, with digital displays inside and a bright sign displaying its logo outside. It is located on Baker Street in central London, just opposite a branch of U.K. banking giant HSBC.