Decision guide
Islamic account vs standard 'swap-free' promotion — what's the difference?
Most major brokers advertise 'swap-free' or 'Islamic' accounts. The marketing language is identical — the structure underneath is not. Choosing the wrong one means paying interest under a different label.
Genuine Islamic account
A permanent shariah-supervised account with no overnight interest under any name.
- Audited by a named shariah board
- No swap, no admin fee tied to the interest rate differential
- Available on all instruments the broker covers, not just majors
- No time limit — works the same on day 1 and day 365
Standard 'swap-free' promotion
A marketing offer that removes the visible swap but reintroduces it as a daily 'administration fee'.
- Free swaps for the first 1–7 days, then a daily fee kicks in
- Administration fee is calculated from the interest rate differential — riba relabelled
- Often restricted to a subset of instruments (majors only)
- Account agreement still references interest-based credit terms
Our recommendation
Only use accounts marketed and structured as a permanent Islamic account, with explicit shariah board oversight and no time-limited promo terms. If the broker can't show you the shariah certification, treat the 'swap-free' label as marketing, not compliance.
Apply this in practice
Open a swap-free Islamic account with our partner broker — structured the way this comparison recommends.