Did anyone suspect there was such a thing?

[Postdog]

http://www.lloydstsb....s/islamic_account.asp

When working and with a mortgage, I opted for an internet only bank, which was fine except for having to post cheques etc. Now I'm not working and have no mortgage, my OH suggested I move to lloyds, so I checked online to see what they could offer and saw the above - why? By why, I mean what is so special that it requires a certain type of account, why not one for catholics buddhists or jedi's etc?

[sandyRoe]

It is a sin in Islam to accept interest on deposits. It used to be called 'usury' in the Christian world.

[starone]

I expect they get money from whichever source will allow them to.

[Postdog]

well clearly people did suspct,and ta for the explanation. It just struck me as weird.

[boxtops]

Islamic accounts have been around for ages, postdog - it's because they are not supposed to deal with accounts which accrue interest, it's not allowed. You can get Islamic mortgages too.

[DTCwordfan]

I'm heading to bed postdog, so I don't have time to research but my guess/(experience) is that the Muslin faith doesn't accept the concept of interest. Instead they calculate in absolute terms. Loans are taken out and repaid with the money due plus a service fee known as "zakat"

If you deal with a Saudi Souq and you sell in at 50 rials, they will not mark up by x% or work out a y% margin - they will add an absolute margin so you need to talk about pricing in "integer" terms....

I suspect that thi is behind the Lloyds offer.