Standards
AAOIFI's 2026 guidance and what it changes for swap-free traders
Read our methodology and editorial policy.
AAOIFI quietly updated its shariah standards for retail brokerage products earlier this year. The headline is small but the practical implications for swap-free accounts are real, especially around hidden financing dressed up as administrative fees.
What actually changed
AAOIFI clarified that a swap-free account must not substitute the prohibited overnight swap with any economically equivalent charge — including 'administration fees', 'rollover commissions', or volume-based surcharges that scale with position size and holding time. The substance test is now explicit.
The standard also reaffirmed that genuine spot forex (T+2 settlement) remains permissible under sarf rules, but that contracts marketed as 'spot CFDs' fall under a separate, stricter analysis because there is no transfer of ownership.
What it means for your account
If your broker's Islamic account starts charging you a fee that only appears after you hold a trade past a certain number of nights, and the fee grows with lot size, that is a swap by another name. AAOIFI's new wording gives shariah boards explicit grounds to reject it.
- Genuinely fee-free past day three — acceptable.
- Flat one-off commission paid at trade open — acceptable.
- Per-night, per-lot 'admin fee' — not acceptable under the 2026 wording.
What did not change
Highly leveraged retail CFDs and binary options remain outside the boundary of the standard altogether. AAOIFI did not endorse them and did not soften the gharar and maysir concerns that have ruled them out for years.
The takeaway
Check your broker's fee schedule, not its marketing. If a swap-free account quietly reintroduces overnight charges by another name, it no longer satisfies the standard most scholars rely on.
Put it into practice
Open a genuine swap-free Islamic account with our partner broker — no overnight interest, ready in minutes.