There is no single best Islamic bank in the UK, because the six PRA-authorised institutions serve different people. On the criteria that matter to a UK resident, Gatehouse Bank ranks first overall: it is the only one that will open a savings account from £1,000 and finance a home for an ordinary salaried buyer. Al Rayan Bank pays the highest fixed rate we found (5.12% on a 12-month deposit) but now requires £10,000 to open and reserves home finance and current accounts for Premier clients. HBZ Sirat is the only one with a branch-based current account open to everyone. BLME is the long-term deposit specialist, QIB UK is private banking, and Nomo is closed to UK residents. The bank accounts hub lists every product.
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How we ranked them
We scored each bank on seven criteria, each marked out of five, using only what the bank's own website stated on 3 October 2026. Retail access asks whether a UK resident on an ordinary income can open an account. Product range counts savings, current accounts and home finance actually open to new UK customers. Savings rate takes the best one-year fixed expected profit rate published. Home finance asks whether a UK resident can apply for a Home Purchase Plan or equivalent today. Current account asks whether a day-to-day account with a debit card is available without a wealth threshold. App and digital asks whether the account can be opened and run online. Shariah disclosure asks whether the bank publishes its Shariah board or adviser and compliance certificates.
| Bank | Retail access | Range | 1yr fixed rate | Home finance | Current account | Shariah disclosure | Total /35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatehouse Bank | 5 | 4 | 4.20% AER | 5 | 0 | 5 | 27 |
| Al Rayan Bank | 3 | 3 | 5.12% gross | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| HBZ Sirat | 4 | 4 | 4.75% EPR | 1 | 5 | 4 | 24 |
| BLME | 3 | 2 | 4.80% AER | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
| QIB UK | 1 | 3 | Not published | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Nomo | 0 | 3 | Not published | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
The total column is a guide, not a verdict. A Gulf resident would score Nomo very differently, and a landlord with £500,000 of property to finance would put QIB UK or BLME near the top. The sections below explain each score so you can reweight for your own situation, and our Islamic banking guide covers how the underlying contracts work.
Gatehouse Bank: the only full retail Islamic bank left
Gatehouse Bank is authorised by the PRA under Financial Services Register number 475346 and is the one Islamic bank in Britain still writing Home Purchase Plans for UK residents on published rates. On 3 October 2026 its UK resident range ran from 5.68% fixed for two years at up to 80% finance to value (product fee £499, finance from £75,000 to £5 million) up to 6.78% fixed for two years at 95% finance to value (fee £999, maximum £600,000), with a follow-on Standard Variable Rate of 7.25%. Properties must be in England or Wales. Savings open from £1,000: the Easy Access Account paid 2.65% AER, the 95 Day Notice Account 3.40%, the 120 Day Notice Account 3.50%, and the 1 Year Fixed Term Woodland Saver 4.20%, with fixed terms running out to five years.
Governance is the strongest in the group. Gatehouse names its Shariah Supervisory Board on its site and publishes downloadable certificates of Shariah compliance for the Home Purchase Plan, both Buy-to-Let plans and the savings range. The gap is a current account: Gatehouse does not offer one, so a customer still needs a day-to-day account elsewhere. For a UK resident who wants to save and buy a home with one Islamic bank, it is the default choice, and our Gatehouse home finance guide covers the fine print.
Al Rayan Bank: highest fixed rate, narrowest door
Al Rayan Bank, founded in 2004 as Britain's first Islamic bank and now a subsidiary of AlRayan Bank Group of Qatar, describes itself on its own site as focused on Structured Real Estate and Premier Banking, with savings offered through its Digital Banking platform. Its registered office is 4 Stratford Place, London, and its new head office opened in London in July 2023. It is regulated under firm reference 229148 and holds an Aa3(cr) rating from Moody's. The savings table on the day showed an Everyday Saver at 2.75% gross, a 12 Month Fixed Term Deposit at 5.12%, 24 months at 4.43% and the Educate A Child International 36 month deposit at 4.55%, all requiring a £10,000 minimum. If the balance falls below £10,000 the rate drops to 0.05%.
The 12-month rate is the highest fixed rate in this comparison, which keeps Al Rayan relevant for savers with a five-figure lump sum. Everything else has narrowed. The current account page on its site returns a page-not-found; the only current account is the Premier current account, which carries a £20 monthly fee unless you hold £50,000 on deposit or are a Premier Home Purchase Plan customer. Premier Banking is described as being for clients with home finance of £500,000 or more, GCC clients, and high or ultra-high net worth individuals. New home finance is the Premier Home Finance product, a commodity murabaha structure with negotiable rate and finance to value, currently open to applicants from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Existing HPP customers continue to be served. The bank publishes a board and management page but we did not find a named Shariah board or downloadable certificate on the pages we fetched, hence the middling disclosure score.
HBZ Sirat: the branch-based current account nobody else offers
Sirat is the Islamic banking window of Habib Bank AG Zurich, a Swiss bank whose UK arm is run from Habib House, 42 Moorgate. Its UK site lists a Sirat Current Account structured as qard hasan, with a free debit card and chequebook on opening subject to status, a Sirat Savings Account, a Sirat Wakala Deposit and online banking. The Sirat eDeposit rates on the day were 4.25% expected profit for six months, 4.75% for twelve months, 4.10% for two years, 4.05% for three and 4.00% for five, with a £5,000 minimum and £1 million maximum. HBZ Sirat is the only name here where you can walk into a branch: the locator lists Moorgate, Baker Street, Harrow, Southall and Tooting in London, plus Birmingham (Edgbaston), Leicester (Belgrave Road) and Manchester (Cheetham Hill).
Shariah oversight is by an external adviser rather than an in-house board. The About Sirat page states that IFAAS (Islamic Finance Advisory and Assurance Services) reviews and approves product structures and documentation and conducts regular compliance reviews and external Shariah audits. On home finance the Sirat range lists only Income Generating Property Finance, which is buy-to-let, so a Sirat customer who wants to buy a home to live in must go to Gatehouse or a non-bank provider. Our HBZ Sirat guide goes deeper on the window model.
BLME: long terms, named scholars, no everyday banking
Bank of London and The Middle East, BLME, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boubyan Bank of Kuwait, regulated under firm reference 464292 from 20 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, and rated A+ by Fitch. Its Premier Deposit Account opens online with £1,000 to £1 million and on the day paid 3.95% gross for three months, 4.20% for six months, 4.80% for one year, 4.40% for two years, 4.20% for three, 4.00% for four and five years and 3.80% for seven years, the only Islamic fixed terms in Britain beyond five years. Profit is paid annually or at maturity, never monthly. The Notice Account paid 4.30% gross (4.37% AER) with a £10,000 opening balance. BLME names its Sharia'a Supervisory Board on its site: Sheikh Dr Abdulaziz Al-Qassar as chairman, Sheikh Dr Esam Khalaf Al-Enezi and Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Barrak.
What BLME does not do is everyday banking. Its site is organised around wealth management, private banking, real estate finance and buy-to-let mortgages, and there is no current account or owner-occupier home finance for UK residents. Deposits must be made from a UK bank account you already hold. It is a place to park a fixed sum for a fixed time, and the best place in the UK to lock an Islamic rate for seven years. The fixed term deposit ladder article shows how to use BLME alongside the others.
QIB UK and Nomo: real banks, but not for most readers
QIB UK, the London subsidiary of Qatar Islamic Bank, describes its offer as personal banking for high-net-worth clients through dedicated relationship managers, with current accounts, savings, foreign exchange and property finance, plus Structured Real Estate finance for residential and commercial projects and a Treasury desk. Its site publishes no rates and states that services are tailored rather than standard products, and that non-Muslim clients are welcome. Deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000. It is a genuine Islamic bank, but the entry point is wealth, not a salary.
Nomo is a trading name of BLME, so it sits under the same licence and the same £120,000 FSCS cover. Its homepage states that Nomo accounts are not currently available to UK residents. The product is a UK bank account for people in the Gulf, with current accounts in six currencies, fixed term and instant access savings in GBP, USD and EUR, and property finance for buying or refinancing in England, Wales and now Scotland (Northern Ireland excluded). If you live in Britain, Nomo scores zero on access for a reason that has nothing to do with quality.
Who will actually onboard you
- UK resident on a salary wanting savings: Gatehouse from £1,000, BLME from £1,000 (fixed only), HBZ Sirat from £5,000, Al Rayan from £10,000.
- UK resident wanting a current account: HBZ Sirat in branch or online; Al Rayan only as a Premier client with £50,000 on deposit or an HPP; nobody else.
- UK resident buying a home to live in: Gatehouse only among the banks; otherwise the FCA-regulated non-bank providers covered in the home financing hub.
- Gulf resident: Nomo for digital banking and property finance, Al Rayan Premier for home finance from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman, QIB UK for private banking.
- High net worth individual or family office: QIB UK, BLME wealth management, Al Rayan Premier.
- Landlord or developer: BLME buy-to-let and real estate finance, HBZ Sirat Income Generating Property Finance, QIB UK Structured Real Estate, Gatehouse Buy-to-Let Purchase Plans.
FSCS and regulation: identical across all six
Every bank in this ranking is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA, and every one states on its site that eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per depositor. Al Rayan and Nomo both state the cover extends to eligible non-UK residents. The expected profit rate on an Islamic deposit is not contractually guaranteed in the way interest is, but Al Rayan's site states that since 2004 it has always paid the rate it quoted and on occasions paid more, and BLME states it will warn you and let you exit if an expected rate changes before you deposit. Our FSCS and Islamic banks explainer covers how a claim would work.
Verdict by reader type
A saver with under £10,000 should open at Gatehouse, which takes £1,000 and publishes the widest range of terms. A saver with £10,000 or more who wants the top one-year rate should compare Al Rayan's 5.12% against BLME's 4.80% and HBZ Sirat's 4.75%, remembering that Al Rayan's rate collapses to 0.05% if the balance dips below the minimum. Anyone who wants a halal current account with a debit card and a human branch should open a Sirat Current Account at HBZ, or use an e-money app from the providers directory if branches do not matter. A home buyer should go to Gatehouse first and the non-bank providers second. A Gulf resident should look at Nomo. For a wealth client, QIB UK and BLME are the two to call. Facts checked against gatehousebank.com, alrayanbank.co.uk, habibbank.com, blme.com, qib-uk.com, nomobank.com on 3 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best Islamic bank in the UK for savings?
For the highest published one-year fixed rate on 3 October 2026, Al Rayan Bank at 5.12% gross, but it requires £10,000 and pays 0.05% if the balance falls below that. BLME paid 4.80% and HBZ Sirat 4.75% on one-year terms. For small balances and easy access, Gatehouse Bank opens from £1,000 and paid 2.65% on easy access and 4.20% on its one-year fixed saver.
Which UK Islamic bank offers a current account?
HBZ Sirat is the only one with a current account open to ordinary UK residents, structured as qard hasan with a debit card and chequebook, available in its eight branches and online. Al Rayan offers a current account only to Premier clients, with a £20 monthly fee waived at £50,000 on deposit. Gatehouse and BLME do not offer current accounts, and Nomo's are closed to UK residents.
Can I still get a halal mortgage from Al Rayan Bank?
Not as a UK resident on a salary. Al Rayan's site shows its only new residential product as Premier Home Finance, a commodity murabaha structure with negotiable terms for applicants from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, aimed at finance of £500,000 or more. Existing Home Purchase Plan customers are still served. Gatehouse Bank is the only UK Islamic bank publishing Home Purchase Plan rates for UK residents.
Are deposits at UK Islamic banks protected by the FSCS?
Yes. All six banks in this ranking are PRA-authorised and state that eligible deposits are protected up to £120,000 per depositor by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Nomo shares BLME's licence, so a saver with both would have one combined limit. Al Rayan and Nomo both state that eligible non-UK residents are covered too.
Is Nomo available to people living in the UK?
No. Nomo's homepage states that its accounts are not currently available to UK residents. It is a digital UK bank account built for people living in the Gulf, offering multi-currency current accounts, GBP, USD and EUR savings, and UK property finance in England, Wales and Scotland. UK residents who want a digital halal account should look at the e-money apps or at Gatehouse's savings app.
Compare providers in your state
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Which Islamic bank has the best Shariah governance disclosure?
Gatehouse Bank and BLME. Gatehouse names its Shariah Supervisory Board and publishes downloadable compliance certificates for its home finance, buy-to-let and savings products. BLME names its three Sharia'a Supervisory Board scholars on its site. HBZ Sirat names IFAAS as its external Shariah adviser and auditor. We did not find a named board or certificate on the Al Rayan, QIB UK or Nomo pages we fetched.
