There are three articles of the Islamic Mua’malat that are relevant to Forex trading:
- Riba: Prohibition of payment and receipt of interest
- Gharar: Prohibition on gambling
- Shared Risk: Both profit and losses
The key element here is the elimination of Riba – or interest on loans or assets.
Riba is central to conventional Forex trading, but according to Islamic law, or Shari’ah law, Muslims are banned from earning interest on loans. Some scholars believe that the practice of removing Riba, as brokers do on their Islamic Forex accounts, legitimises Forex trading under Shariʻah.
Islam also emphasises that when conducting business transactions, elements of uncertainty, excessive speculation and gambling should also be avoided, so it could be argued that hedging trades with Forex is also legitimate under Shari’ah. It is also widely agreed that conventional Forex transactions – if used carefully – are a very effective means of protecting banks from exposure to international risk.
Shared Risk
Another concern about the Islamic nature of Forex trading is the element of shared risk. Luckily, with Forex trading, when you trade, you are investing in an asset – the currency purchased. If this asset increases in value, you will make a profit and if the asset loses value, you will make a loss. The result is a sharing of the benefits and losses of the currency exchange with your counterparty. From this point of view, Forex trading and Islam are compatible in terms of shared risk.
What is an Islamic Forex Account?
Across the Islamic world, many brokers offer Shari’ah compliant accounts to make sure that your trading is not haram – though this does mean that there are a few differences when compared to traditional Forex accounts.
Islamic Forex accounts have two underlying attributes:
- Free swap rates.
- No interest rate payments – or no Riba (page 2 – pdf).
Other than the above, Islamic Forex accounts usually have the same trading terms and conditions as a regular Forex account. However, some most Forex brokers change the commercial terms of trading with them and might limit the trader from trading cryptocurrencies.
Some Forex brokers will widen their spreads on Islamic accounts to compensate for the missed revenue that would otherwise have been generated by collecting interest. Another practice, but is far rarer, is that some Forex brokers charge an up-front commission on trades instead of widening the spreads.
Forex Brokers with Islamic Swap-free Accounts
There are a variety of brokers that offer Islamic accounts tailored for Muslim traders. There are usually no limitations on this account type – this means you can trade Forex, commodities, CFDs contracts and every financial instrument that complies with the Islamic financial regulations.
An important note: With most Forex brokers, you will need to open a real trading account which can then be converted into an Islamic account. Few brokers have a registration page specifically for Islamic accounts, and even fewer have Islamic demo accounts, but some brokers with clients from predominantly Muslim countries automatically create accounts as Islamic accounts.
If you are in doubt, make sure you discuss your concerns with your account manager or broker representative before you make a deposit.
Forex Rollovers and Swap Rates Explained
In the Forex market, any position held overnight generates a rollover which will be earned or paid out depending on the currency you are trading and the direction of the market. Rollover interest is a form of interest that can be credited or debited from your Forex trading account, and thus it is prohibited by Islamic financial regulations. In the financial world, this rollover is also known as the swap rate. So, Islamic Forex accounts are swap-free accounts where no overnight interest is credited or debited.
Islamic Financial Regulatory Bodies
The central financial regulatory bodies in the Islamic world are the following:
- Islamic Financial Services Board– IFSB.
- Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic and Financial Institutions– AAOIFI.
- International Islamic Financial Market– ISFM.
- Liquidity Management Center– LMC.
Forex brokers that are registered in Muslim majority countries often have to comply with many local regulations and are required to follow Shari’ah law, whereas Western Forex brokers have much more flexibility when it comes to the interest charged to their clients. This is why only some of the brokers offer this account type.
Summary
An Islamic Forex account, or swap-free account, is an optional account type that is often selected after signing up with a broker. They are intended for use by traders of the Islamic faith, which prohibits generating income from interest payments. Most Forex brokers can accommodate followers of the Islamic faith by offering swap-free trading accounts that are compliant with Shari’ah law.
