We charge an arrangement fee of up to 8% that is paid by the small business seeking financing on drawdown of the funds. In practice, it will be retained from the advance. 

An administration fee of 15% of arrears is applied to any repayments that remain unpaid after 3 days from their due date.

1. Limited Liability Company with UK registered shareholders
2. Minimum of 3 years trading history (Start-ups and sole traders are not eligible)
3. No outstanding CCJ's
4. Stable cash flows


As Qardus is a Sharia-compliant platform, businesses with their main activities in the following sectors are excluded:

• Advertising if: 

• Advertisers of pork, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and all other non-Islamic activities 

• Advertising means and modes which contravene the tenets of Islam

• Media & Entertainment (Exceptions that are allowed on the platform include: News Channels, Newspapers, Sports Channels, Children’s Channels, Educational Channels):

• Producers, distributors and broadcasters of music, movies, television shows and musical radio shows

•   Cinema operators

• Alcohol

• Cloning

• Financials, except the following that are allowed:

• Islamic Banks

• Islamic Financial Institutions

• Islamic Insurance Companies

•  Gambling

• Pork

• Pornography

• Tobacco

• Trading of gold and silver as cash on deferred basis

Your application to obtain funding on the Qardus platform takes minutes to complete. Once this is done, our credit assessment team will review your complete application and get back to you within 48 hours (2 working days).If your application is approved, and after you have agreed to your financing agreement, your financing request will automatically be listed on the marketplace so that registered Qardus investors can review it and fund your business. 

Your financing facility can fund over a period of up to 14 days, although most financing arrangements fund in just a few days. As soon as it's 100% funded your listing will close and we will send you a confirmation email. As long as your financing facility is fully funded before 3pm on any working day, we will transfer the funds into your designated business bank account the same day. (NB: Funds can take up to 3 days to reach your account).

The total cost of your financing facility includes a flat profit rate and Qardus fees. The rate (i.e. profit rate based on the commodity murabaha agreement) your business pays back is determined by a number of factors, including the risk band your financing facility is given during our credit assessment process, and the length of repayment term. The rate is applied to the outstanding principal at the outset to calculate the amount due on each repayment date. 

The rates start from around 1.25% per month but can vary depending on the risk profile of the business.

Qardus currently provides the following type of financing: 

• Small business (unsecured) financing facility. 
• From £50,000 to £500,000 for working capital purposes. 
• Tenors from 6 months to 36 months. 
• Personal Guarantees (PGs) will be required by the shareholder(s). 

You have access to all available company details on the Qardus investor dashboard.

As part of our credit risk assessment, if the SME passes our eligibility criteria, we conduct further credit checks on the business and the Directors using Credit Bureaus (such as Experian, Equifax, and CreditSafe). Upon satisfactory credit reports and analysis of the business’s financial statements, each business is then priced using our proprietary risk scoring model. Their risk band determines the profit rate which will be charged for the duration of the financing facility.

Unsecured business loans typically include a personal guarantee. A personal guarantee (when referring to unsecured loans) is a type of unsecured loan agreement.

Unlike a secured loan agreement, an unsecured loan does not obligate the business receiving the loan to give up collateral (business assets) if the business defaults on payment.

The lender may still be able to take your collateral, but not without a court’s permission. It is typical for non-Sharia-compliant businesses to charge a higher interest rate for unsecured loans; whereas secured loans have lower interest rates.

No, funding SMEs through the Qardus platform does not fall under FSCS protection.

To start funding businesses as an individual, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a permanent resident of the UK (excluding the Channel islands and Isle of Man
• Have a valid UK bank or building society account

To start funding businesses through your limited company or through a LLP, you must:

• Be registered with Companies House
• Have a valid UK business bank account held in the name of your limited company/LLP
• Have a permanent place of business in the UK (excluding the Channel Islands and Isle of Man)
• All shareholders must be permanent UK residents

No. The platform is open to all qualified investors, as neither business owners nor investors have to be Muslim.

You are funding creditworthy businesses that are limited companies & currently operating in the UK. As Qardus is a sharia-compliant platform, businesses with their main activities in the following sectors are excluded:

• Advertising if: 
  • Advertisers of pork, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and all other non-Islamic activities
  • Advertising means and modes which contravene the tenets of Islam
• Media & Entertainment (Exceptions that are allowed on the platform include: News Channels, Newspapers, Sports Channels, Children’s Channels, Educational Channels)
• Producers, distributors and broadcasters of music, movies, television shows and musical radio shows 
• Cinema operators      
• Alcohol
• Cloning
• Financials, except:
• Islamic Banks
• Islamic Financial Institutions
• Islamic Insurance Companies
• Gambling
• Pork
• Pornography
• Tobacco
• Trading of gold and silver as cash on deferred basis

Funding businesses through Qardus is simple. You can set up your investor account and start funding small businesses directly in a matter of minutes.

Investors on our platform receive profit rates rather than interest. This is because Islam prohibits the payment and receiving of interest as Muslims believe that it promotes unfairness in financial transactions, which leads to social inequality and injustice.

Qardus conducts a thorough due diligence on all businesses to check their credit worthiness before listing them on the platform. A personal director guarantee is also taken against the facility to help recover the amounts outstanding if something goes wrong. Qardus also assesses the financial status of the director should it become necessary to seek payment from them under the terms of their guarantee.

Having said that, it is important to note that if there are more than 2 months of repayments outstanding, Qardus would appoint a third party debt collection team to handle the collection. The fees of the debt collection team are offset by any late payment charges that are paid by the business as specified in the commodity murabaha agreement. Qardus shall distribute the amount of any late payment charges, after deduction of the aforementioned costs, to such charitable foundations as may be selected by the Shari'ah Supervisory Board in its sole discretion.

Islamic finance refers to a financing system which is modelled on Islamic principles such as no interest-based products, transparency, fairness, equitable products, manageable debt products, risk-sharing products and many other noble concepts. Islamic finance includes Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets, Islamic money markets, Islamic insurance (Takaful), Islamic microfinance and Islamic wealth management firms.

In Arabic, Sharia means the clear, well-trodden path to water. Islamically, it is used to refer to the matters of religion that God has legislated for His servants. The linguistic meaning of Sharia reverberates in its technical usage: just as water is vital to human life so the clarity and uprightness of Sharia is the means of life for souls and minds. 

Qardus uses a Musharakah structure for investors and commodity Murabahah for customers requiring financing. Both structures have been developed based on AAOIFI Sharia Standards.

Musharakah is a joint enterprise or partnership structure in Islamic finance in which partners share in the profits and losses of an enterprise.

Under the commodity Murabahah agreement a Qardus Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) uses the funding provided by the investors to acquire commodities (usually non-precious metals such as tin or steel available from the London Metal Exchange) from the open market that it sells to an SME at cost price plus a profit margin. The SPV, as the agent, then sells the commodities back to the open market on immediate payment terms and consequently the SME receives an amount of cash equivalent to the cost price of the commodities but has an obligation to pay to the SPV the cost of the commodities plus the agreed profit margin over the term of the facility.

The entire facility has been developed by an experienced Sharia advisor and an experienced law firm who are experts in Islamic finance. Furthermore, our products have been designed to meet the conditions mentioned in the world-renowned Sharia standard-setting body AAOIFI.

Crowdfunding is a method of funding a project or organisation by pooling the money of individual investors. It can provide a number of benefits beyond the financial including marketing, audience engagement and feedback. Crowdfunding allows good companies which don't fit the pattern required by conventional financiers, to break through and attract cash. There are a number of types of crowdfunding but the 3 main categories are:

• Reward or donation based crowdfunding – these are not investments
• Loan crowdfunding (often referred to as peer-to-peer loans or debt crowdfunding)
• Equity crowdfunding

Want to know more?

Please visit the UK Crowdfunding Association.

NESTA have written a comprehensive introduction to crowdfunding. You can read it here.

Equity crowdfunding is the process whereby individuals or the "crowd" invest in an unlisted company (a company that is not listed on a stock market) in exchange for shares in that company. Equity crowdfunding is a great way to match companies who need funding with individuals who wish to invest. Investors become shareholders and have partial ownership of a company. Individuals get a share in the future success of a company they believe in. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested.
Qardus offers investors the ability to participate in shariah compliant investments by using a musharaka structure to provide funding to SMEs via a commodity murabaha arrangement.  Under the Musharaka Agreement the investors are issued shares in an SPV that will be formed to provide the onward financing to the SME. The number of shares issued to each investor will depend upon the amount of capital contributed by that investor – all of the investors' shares will carry the same rights. 

Yes – crowdfunding is a regulated activity in the UK and each country across the world has specific regulations regarding the adoption of equity crowdfunding.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK issued a Policy statement (14/4) The FCA's regulatory approach to crowdfunding over the internet, and the promotion of non-readily realisable securities by other media, in March 2014

ShareIn Limited are the company that Qardus are working with to deliver their equity crowdfund. ShareIn are authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 603332).

When you invest or top up your wallet, funds should be transferred to 'ShareIn Ltd'. ShareIn Ltd holds client monies in segregated accounts. ShareIn Limited (Firm Reference Number 603332) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The transfer details will be available at the time of investing.

Investing in an SPV that will be formed to provide the onward financing to the SME involves risks. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different types of investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

A full risk warning can be found here.

You can lose all the money you invested but nothing more.

People resident in the United Kingdom or the European Union (EU) who are either a "Certified High Net Worth Individual" or "Self-Certified Sophisticated Investor" (as these terms are defined in The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended)) or who can confirm that they will invest less than 10% of their net assets in this type of investment as a "restricted investor" (as this is defined in the FCA's Conduct of Business Sourcebook at Chapter 4.7).  

You must not participate in the New Fundraise or make any other investments via the Company's website if you do not meet any of these criteria and you must not complete the online registration process as an 'INVESTOR'.

Qardus would like to keep their list of investors private. You should be aware however that the name of each shareholder must be recorded at Companies House and this is publicly available information.

For a significant investment, we would be more than happy to enter into separate discussions as to whether we can accommodate this. It will be dependent on your particular circumstances and the regulatory framework in your country of residence. Please contact us at investing@qardus.com if this interests you. Please note residents of the US and Canada cannot invest through the Qardus platform.

In order to invest via this platform you must be categorised as a "client" for regulatory purposes. All investors are required to successfully complete the "Appropriateness Test". All UK individual investors are treated as retail clients.

All UK investors using this platform are eligible to file a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There is no FSCS cover for investments into the products offered by Qardus. Before it is invested or once the proceeds of investments are returned, your money will be held by the money recipient in a client account and subject to separate protections applicable to credit institutions and banks.

Different regulations apply in different regions and before being able to invest you will be asked to confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements in your particular region.

You can cancel your investment offer at any point before the funds are transferred by emailing investing@qardus.com .

We want to give you superb customer service but sometimes things might go wrong. We can usually resolve most issues straightaway, so please email us on contact@qardus.com to tell us how we can help. What you'll need to tell us so that we can help you:

• Your personal details,
• What's gone wrong and
• What you want us to do to put things right.

We'll be in touch with you as soon as we can and let you know what will happen next. We'll try to resolve your complaint within 3 working days. For more complex issues it's likely that we will need longer to look into what's happened and we may ask you for further information to help us reach a decision. We'll give you regular updates. And once we've dealt with your complaint, we'll go back and see what we can learn from your experience.

If your complaint is in relation to a regulatory matter, then the complaint will be investigated jointly with our regulatory principal Share In Ltd and we will be working with them to attempt to resolve matters. If you're unhappy with the outcome of the review, UK Residents can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to carry out an independent review of your complaint. In any event, you have the right to ask the FOS to review your complaint if we've been unable to resolve it within 8 weeks. The FOS can help UK residents with most complaints if you are:

• A consumer
• A business employing fewer than 10 persons that has an annual turnover that doesn't exceed €2 million
• If you are unsure whether the FOS will consider your complaint, please contact them directly for advice. The service the FOS provides is free and impartial and contacting them at any stage of your complaint will not affect your legal rights. The contact details for the FOS are:

The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR Their phone numbers are +44 (0)300 123 9123 or +44 (0)800 023 4567. You can send an email to: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

“Best execution” rules, which exist to make certain types of costs and processes more transparent to investors, will not apply to your investments on our platform, and we need to explain why that is. When you apply to purchase a bond or share on our investment platform, your application will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an investment offer is closed, investments are issued directly by the company to the investor. These investments are not traded on a market of any kind.

So what does this have to do with “best execution” rules?

• “Best execution” means achieving the best possible result for customers when carrying out their orders via an execution venue.
• An “execution venue” refers to a facility that brings multiple parties together for buying and selling. This could be a regulated market, a multi-lateral trading facility (MTF), organised trading facility (OTF) or other entities that perform this role.

Because your transaction on our crowdfunding platform will not be carried out by an intermediary, third party or execution venue as defined above, nor do we provide a facility allowing you to resell your investment through an MTF, best execution rules do not apply

One of your rights under data protection law is the right of access to the personal data that we hold about you. The process of requesting your data is called a Subject Access Request (SAR).

How to ask for a SAR

If you want a copy of the personal data we hold (or simply want confirmation as to whether or not we process data about you), you must make a request, either in writing or verbally. Our contact details are here.

Please include the following in your SAR:

• Your full name, postal address, email address and telephone number
• The statement “I the undersigned and the person identified above hereby request that Qardus (1) inform me of the personal data held about me OR (2) provide me with a copy of the personal data Qardus hold about me.”
• [If request made in writing] Signature and date

What you can expect from us

Before releasing personal data we may have to take steps to confirm your identity. This could include requiring a piece of photo identification or answering a number of security questions related to your account.

Once we verify your identity, we will log your request, and we will search all databases to find any personal data we currently hold.

We will provide an electronic copy of your personal data within a month of your request.

Please be aware that there are circumstances in which the law allows us to extend the response time or charge an administrative fee. In either case, we will inform you by email within one month of receiving your request.

What you can do once you receive the data we hold

Once you receive the data we hold, you have the right to ask for data to be corrected or erased.

Please be aware that we may not always be able to erase personal data we may hold about you. If your personal data relates to an investment you have made, financial services regulation requires us to keep certain information on file for a period of 5 years.

In the event you have a complaint about the way we have handled your personal data or your SAR, you can count on us to take your complaint seriously.

If you feel your data protection rights have been violated and you do not feel you have had a satisfactory response from us , you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We will review any possible conflicts of interest that could harm investors and manage or eliminate these conflicts if and when they arise.