Wahed, Aramco-backed fintech, launches a physical bank in London #

Aramco is backing Wahed fintech company as it launches a physical bank in London, UK despite the concerns of a high street bank exodus.

Wahed’s first physical bank in the UK opened on Jan 24th, 2023 on Baker Street. The company is backed by Saudi Arabian oil giant. Among its investors are Kube VC, Paul Pogba, French football star, Cue Ball Rasameel Investment Company and others.

The potential success of halal investing platform Wahed is questionable due to the high bank exodus. However, the company scored £61m from its investors and already has over 300,000 customers worldwide. Wahed is targeted at UK’s Muslims, allowing customers to use their debit card to deposit cash while its value is tracked with the price of gold.

Despite online-only banks like Revolut and Monzo being popular in the UK, and other banks shrinking their physical presence, Wahed company thinks that Muslims in the UK would want to see a physical presence of a bank. They believe that the online-only approach would not achieve as much trust from their target customers as a physical bank.

Junaid Wahedna, founder and chairman of Wahed, believes that opening a branch on Baker Street will allow Wahed to be established as a permanent player in the UK fintech industry.