LDUN secures Sharia approval for its BNPL product

By Leandra Monteiro

In aligning with the Saudi Vision 2030, local-based Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment solution providers came to bridge the gap between the wholesalers and the retailers. This was to ensure the business continuity for both segments by developing an automated solution to facilitate responsible decision-making and better control of business finances.

BNPL business models stood to benefit from the transformation made possible by the initiatives taken by Financial Sector Development Program. This mode of payment was seen as an attractive and convenient solution of providing instalment option at no additional cost. LDUN joins a list of providers as it prepares to enter the market with Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) certifying its payment service and advising on additional products.

Feras Alhamdan, CEO and founder of LDUN said, “Regardless of the sector, we came up with LDUN for the purpose of aligning with the vision to support SMEs. LDUN offers the same flexibility and manageability which makes BNPL attractive for individuals and equally appealing to companies as well.” On LDUN’s engagement with SRB, he said “Fintechs have the same requirements as legacy institutions when it comes to Shari’a supervisory programs and periodic Shari’a audits. Given SRB’s experience and track-record in serving fintechs and like business models, it was natural that we sought their expertise”. “They came with their industry-leading insights from a Sharia compliance perspective, providing us with the certification and assurance to meet all our Sharia requirements” he added.

Shariyah Review Bureau provides end-to-end Sharia advisory solutions that are centrally deployed, and offer Sharia supervision, audit and quick turnaround in product certification. This has become an attractive option for supporting the Shari’a needs of tech-based start-ups. In addition to reducing Shari’a-associated overheads, this approach helps clients administer and centralize all of their Shari’a requirements.

Yasser S. Dahlawi Founder and CEO of Shariyah Review Bureau said, “Over the last few years the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed an increase in the number of operating fintech companies. The regulatory and infrastructure developments have been conducive towards adopting digital services. The BNPL business models have become popular with vendors and end-users – facilitating a convenient and flexible way to purchase expensive items.”  On the new engagement, he added “We are pleased that LDUN joins our list of BNPL service providers that benefit from Shari’a review and certification and leverage upon our teams experience.”