KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): Singapore-based Fingular is launching shariah-first digital consumer financing in Malaysia to tap into one of the world’s largest Islamic finance markets.

Operating under the brand Tazee, the aim is to offer fast and accessible small loans with plans to introduce additional instalment-based options, Fingular said in a statement on Thursday. The service is currently available via web and Android, with iOS launch planned in the near term, it said.

“We are building a dedicated business line for customers for whom shariah compliance is a fundamental requirement,” said Fingular co-founder Maxim Chernushchenko.

Fingular is entering a market of 34 million people that are highly connected to the internet. Bank Negara Malaysia has licensed five digital banks, on top of 16 local and foreign Islamic banks as well as another two dozen conventional banks jostling for business in the Muslim-majority nation.

The operating entity, Wawasan Cojaya Sdn Bhd, is licensed for online money lending under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and holds independent shariah certification from an undisclosed Malaysian advisory firm.

Malaysia has a well-developed Islamic finance ecosystem, “yet there is still a clear gap in the digital segment for fast, small-ticket solutions”, according to Chernushchenko.

All products under Tazee are structured using tawarruq, or commodity murabahah, and executed via a shariah-compliant digital commodity trading platform.

“Our goal is to address this through transparent product design, a clear transaction structure, and a fully digital user experience,” he added.