Kuwait Finance House: Islamic home finance and banking in the UK

Kuwait Finance House is a UK bank that runs on Sharia-compliant finance rather than interest. It takes deposits, lends for property, and sells its Ijarah Home Purchase Plan suite of products on an advised basis, which means a home finance arrangement built around rent and the bank's share of the property rather than a standard interest-bearing mortgage¹.

Kuwait Finance House is a UK bank offering Sharia-compliant current accounts, savings and home finance, and it is the same institution that many customers knew as Ahli United Bank. It appears on the Bank of England list of banks incorporated in the UK authorised to accept deposits, with Financial Services Registration Number 131818³. The company was incorporated on 27 April 1966 and is still active³.

For a consumer, the practical questions are what it offers, how the home finance works, how to pay and bank day to day, what happens if something goes wrong, and how far your money is protected. This page covers each in turn.

What Kuwait Finance House offers: Sharia-compliant banking and finance

Kuwait Finance House describes the account it provides as a Sharia-compliant account, held in your name and subject to its individual terms and conditions¹. The bank's own product range covers trade finance, property finance, trust services and the Islamic Home Purchase Plan¹.

The distinction that matters to a consumer is what Sharia compliance means in practice. Islamic banks do not offer overdrafts, because both charging and paying interest are not considered Sharia-compliant¹⁰. Instead of interest, a Sharia-compliant bank invests deposits in a portfolio of assets that comply with Shariah principles to generate an expected profit rate, and it acts as a trustee accountable to depositors under Islamic principles of finance for any negligence¹⁰. That is how the model is described by a UK Sharia-compliant bank, and it is the structure a reader should expect when comparing what Kuwait Finance House offers with a conventional current account or savings account.

For everyday banking, that means a current account and debit card rather than an overdraft facility, and property finance arranged as a home purchase plan rather than a mortgage. If you are weighing up a Sharia-compliant account against a conventional one, the current accounts guide and the savings guide set out how the two compare on access, protection and how returns are described.

Kuwait Finance House is a member of the KFH group¹. The group's other companies are relevant to a reader in one narrow way: companies within the KFH Group which do not carry out investment business in the UK will not have the protection afforded by UK financial services legislation, including the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme¹¹. If you are offered an investment through a group company rather than the UK bank, that is the point to check.

Ijarah Home Purchase Plans and property finance

A home purchase plan is a Sharia-compliant mortgage alternative: the property is bought jointly with the bank². Kuwait Finance House sells its Ijarah Home Purchase Plan suite of products on an advised basis, so the process involves advice rather than a straight product application².

The Rent & Acquisition version can be used to refinance, either from an existing standard interest-bearing mortgage or from an existing Islamic home finance product². You can settle the outstanding balance at any time by purchasing the bank's share of the property, though a legal fee and an admin fee might apply². There is also a buy to let investment property option based on a rent only arrangement for up to 10 years².

For landlords and corporate buyers, the Commodity Murabaha (Tawarruq) Buy to Let Home Finance Plan (Profit Only) is available to trusts, legal corporate entities including special purpose vehicles in the UK and abroad, and UK partnerships¹¹. It can be used to purchase freehold or leasehold residential property, with 50 years remaining on the lease at the end of the term of the home finance¹¹.

If you are buying a home in England or Wales, you may be able to get financial help from the government through an affordable home ownership scheme, which sits alongside whatever finance arrangement you choose¹². The mortgages guide and the home buying guide explain how the stages of a purchase work, and the lenders directory lists who operates in the UK market.

The Kuwait Finance House Visa debit card and contactless payments

Kuwait Finance House issues a Visa contactless debit card under its individual terms and conditions⁹. Visa contactless cards use the same secure technology as Chip and PIN⁹. When your existing card expires, you will automatically receive a new Visa contactless card⁹.

The card is a debit card linked to a Sharia-compliant account, so spending comes out of your own balance rather than a credit facility¹³. Because Islamic banks do not offer overdrafts, there is no arranged overdraft behind it¹⁰.

On charges, the bank's own site is the place to check today's figures: this page does not carry the bank's rates or fees. What can be said is how the charging structure works. A debit card is normally free to hold and to use in the UK, with costs arising on specific events such as using the card abroad in a currency other than sterling, where foreign exchange fees apply⁹. If you are planning to spend on the card overseas, the money abroad guide covers how foreign transaction costs typically work and what to check before you travel.

If your card is lost or stolen, report it to your bank immediately¹⁴. Kuwait Finance House runs a 24/7 helpline on +44 (0) 207 487 6679, available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, and you can also block the card yourself by logging on to internet banking and selecting the card number to be stopped on the Card Summary page⁹. The bank says you are 100% protected against fraud if you have complied with its general terms and conditions governing accounts and services, including taking reasonable precautions to protect your card and letting it know as soon as you realise it may be missing⁹.

Using Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay with Kuwait Finance House

Kuwait Finance House supports digital wallets, and its terms name Apple Inc. (Apple Pay), Google LLC (Google Pay) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd (Samsung Pay), as well as any other digital wallet provider approved by the bank from time to time¹³.

All KFH cards are eligible to be added to Google Wallet and used with Google Pay¹⁵. The bank states that it does not charge any additional fees for using Google Pay, though mobile data charges may apply depending on your service provider¹⁵.

A digital wallet is a way to upload your card details to your phone or tablet, then tap the phone on a card reader to pay in shops and to pay on some websites and apps¹⁶. In the UK, nearly all banks, building societies, credit card companies and prepaid card providers support both Apple Pay and Google Wallet¹⁷.

Two practical points. First, if your card is lost or replaced, or your device is lost, contact KFH immediately via the fraud hotline on +44 (0) 20 7487 6679¹³. Second, a suspended or blocked wallet is a common sign that a bank has spotted something unusual, so treat a sudden wallet suspension as a prompt to check directly with the bank rather than through a link in a message¹⁶.

How to bank with Kuwait Finance House: online banking and the Portman Square office

Kuwait Finance House's online banking is reached through its website at www.uk.kfh.com, or by typing https://www.mye-bankonline.com into your browser¹. The bank says it has secured the internet banking site with strong encryption¹.

To use online banking you must already have an account with the bank¹⁸. Registration follows the pattern used across UK banking: register on the bank's website, enter your personal details, answer identity verification questions, enter an activation code sent by post or text, then set up a username and a secure password or passcode¹⁸. If you are new to managing money online, the how-to guide walks through the everyday tasks, and Age UK's guidance on online banking is written for people setting it up for the first time¹⁸.

The bank's registered office is 35 Portman Square, London, W1H 6LR⁶. That is the address on its formal documents; for day-to-day contact, use the phone numbers and secure messaging on its own website rather than writing to the registered office.

Most UK banks also offer some banking services through local post offices, alongside a local branch, telephone, online or mobile banking¹⁹. If you rely on counter service, check what is available to you before you open an account, because access channels vary between banks.

From United Bank of Kuwait and Ahli United Bank to Kuwait Finance House

If you are searching for Kuwait Finance House because you used to bank with Ahli United Bank, this is the same UK bank under a new name. Its previous names are The United Bank of Kuwait Plc, Ahli United Bank (UK) Plc and Ahli United Bank (UK) PLC³. The company was incorporated on 27 April 1966 and its status is active⁵.

What that means in practice is that nothing about your protection changes because of the name. It is the same firm, the same authorisation and the same FCA reference number, 131818³. The bank's permissions cover entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender, accepting deposits, and entering into a regulated credit agreement as lender, excluding high-cost short-term credit, bill of sale agreements and home collected credit³.

One consequence of shared authorisation is worth knowing if you hold money in more than one place. Money held in multiple accounts with multiple banks that are part of the same banking group, and which share a banking licence, is treated as one bank for deposit protection purposes⁸. So if you hold deposits with more than one brand that sits under the same licence, they count together towards a single limit.

Fraud, scams and keeping your account secure

Kuwait Finance House states that it would never request personal information from you in an email of the kind used by phishing scammers¹. Treat any message asking you to confirm details, move money or click a link as suspect, and go to the bank through its website or a number you have looked up yourself.

Push payment fraud happens when you are tricked into sending money to an account which belongs to the scammer¹. The rules that took effect on 7 October 2024 mean your bank will usually have to give you a refund if you made this type of payment on or after that date, and the payment was sent from a bank in the UK to another bank in the UK²⁰. If you have lost money or spotted an unauthorised transaction, contact your bank immediately using the phone number on the back of your card, and report it to the police at Report Fraud²¹.

A few habits reduce the risk. Turn on 2-step verification to add an extra layer of security to any accounts that have your personal or financial information²³. Never disclose your PIN to anyone, whether to a family member, bank staff or police¹. Keep your chequebook in a safe location and inform your bank of any missing or lost cheques²⁴. If you think your card, online bank account or chequebook has been stolen or hacked, speak to your bank or building society straight away²⁵.

If your personal data is exposed, report lost or stolen documents such as passports, driving licences, credit cards and cheque books to the issuer, check your bank statements and credit report, watch out for phishing, use strong passwords and multifactor authentication, and consider applying for Cifas protective registration²⁶. Identity fraud involving plastic cards, online banking or cheques should be reported directly to the financial institution concerned²¹. The scams and fraud guide covers the main types in more detail.

Complaints and getting help

Start with Kuwait Finance House itself. Every firm it supervises has a complaints procedure, and the bank must give you a final response within eight weeks. If you are not happy with the answer you get, or the firm does not reply to you within eight weeks, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service²⁷.

The ombudsman service is free to consumers. Complaints can be sent through its website, using an online form that guides you through the information it needs²⁸. Its Business Support Hub also advises businesses and consumer advisers on how a complaint might be looked at and on the rules that apply²⁸.

The ombudsman can look at a wide range of financial complaints, including ones about credit, and it can consider complaints about claims companies, for example the results of a claim or the fees charged²⁸. If you are unhappy with the conduct of a claims company rather than the outcome, the Financial Conduct Authority also takes complaints about that conduct²⁸.

If you are struggling with debt rather than a service problem, free and impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and from debt advice charities, and the debt guide sets out the options and your rights. The consumer protection guide explains the wider framework, including how the ombudsman and the conduct regulator divide up complaints.

How your money is protected: FSCS and its limits

Deposits with Kuwait Finance House are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The scheme protects up to £120,000 per eligible depositor for banks, building societies and credit unions authorised by the PRA and FCA, or £240,000 for joint accounts per authorised firm⁷. FSCS can only protect money held by UK branches of authorised banks and building societies⁷.

Two limits catch people out. First, money held in multiple accounts with multiple banks that are part of the same banking group, and which share a banking licence, is treated as one bank, so the balances count together towards one limit⁸. Second, deposits above the limit are unlikely to be covered⁷. If you hold large balances, for example the proceeds of a house sale waiting to be moved, spreading the money across institutions that do not share a licence is the usual way to stay inside the limit²⁹.

The scheme also covers mortgage advice, so if you were given bad advice on a mortgage or home finance arrangement, that is a separate route to compensation from the deposit protection limit³⁰. You can check whether a firm is covered using the FSCS protection checker⁷.