BLME or AL Rayan Sharia Accounts

StellaN

I am interested in opening a two year sharia fixed rate account and the best rates are either BLME or Al Rayan. I'm tempted to go with Al Rayan because you can do everything online whereas I believe with BLME it is all by post? Also Al Rayan offer interest at maturity as an option which is beneficial to me.

Has anybody else had accounts/dealings with Al Rayan? Any comments welcome. Thanks.

quirkydeptless

I've seen BLME come and go on Hargreaves Landsdown Active savings, which would be a way to do their BLME online.


However currently only the 18 months account at 2.25% is there.


https://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/active-savings

LobsterMemory

With BLME you fill in the application online and they send you a letter with the account details you need to fund the account.

With Al Rayan, you also set up online, get the account details by email so you can fund the account and then they send a letter for you to sign and return (can't remember why)

So Al Rayan is a bit quicker to set up but last time I looked (earlier this month) their rates were a little less.

Can't comment on how well the maturity process goes as that pleasure is still to come

masonic

I had difficulty opening a second Al Rayan account as they did not provide me with online access, either automatically, or when I requested it by filling out the appropriate form and posting it to them. I gave up after that as it wasn't worth the hassle for a few basis points of interest.

With BLME, you always send funds to the same holding account in your name, so after the first account is set up you can apply for and fund additional accounts the same day (they are usually processed the next working day).

Sally57

I have used Al Rayan on several occasions/accounts and always had the ‘expected profit’ paid on maturity with no problems.

soulsaver

AR's on line banking facility is slowwww... and badly laid out, looks and feels old fashioned... and their renewal paperwork has sometimes been confusingly written, but can be clarified with a short call.. usually answered quickly.

Worth the effort though; I've had their ftbs for the last 4 years.

MPN

I have had a few BLME and AL Rayan fixed term accounts and both are fine. As others have mentioned Al Rayan is slightly more convenient because the it can be done online but with BLME it is by post.

GreenBitterfly

I use Al Rayan all the time for FRB, they're great, you need to register for online banking in order to open a second account iirc. The maturity form is easy to fill out, and the money is there in my account the day of maturity.

StellaN

I have decided to go with the AL Rayan 2 year fixed bond paid out on maturity. They give options for payment on maturity of a) to your external bank account or b) to a new Al Rayan instant access account which could be useful if you want to take out another fixed bond?

Anybody done this before?

soulsaver

StellaN wrote: »

I have decided to go with the AL Rayan 2 year fixed bond paid out on maturity. They give options for payment on maturity of a) to your external bank account or b) to a new Al Rayan instant access account which could be useful if you want to take out another fixed bond?

Anybody done this before?

They give you more options at/near the end of the term.. so it shouldn't matter what you elect at this stage - I've rolled my last maturity (July) over to their 18 month 2.3% ac and put in more for another 18mth 2.3% ftb (or frb if you wish).

StellaN

Had to send a cheque for the deposit because my bank Barclays only allow a bank transfer or debit card transaction up to £10K and on the app it is only £5K per transaction so snail post in the end!