How are Halal Money Index grades calculated?

Each provider is scored on Shariah integrity (35 points: the strength and credibility of Shariah oversight, with claims requiring published evidence such as named boards, fatwas and audit reports), transparency (20: whether the board, scholars, methodology and real fee numbers are publicly disclosed, plus how complete the provider's data profile is), cost/value (15: pricing transparency, since publishing actual rates and fees beats hiding them in a Schedule of Charges), and track record (10: at least a year in operation earns full marks, so longevity beyond that adds nothing). A 20-point verified-data credit reflects how recently our editorial team verified the provider's data against its published sources, and it decays when verification goes stale. Up to 4 editor's-pick points recognize documented benefits the rubric can't quantify, awarded only with a published rationale. Missing data is never excused: it scores a conservative floor and is flagged. Every grade is reviewed and approved before publication.

Is a low grade a religious ruling that a provider is not halal?

No. The Index is not a fatwa and HalalWallet does not issue religious rulings. A low Shariah-integrity score most often means a provider has not published evidence of independent Shariah oversight, which is a transparency problem, not necessarily a compliance one. New Zealand has no statutory Shariah governance framework, which makes published documentation the primary evidence available. We encourage every consumer to review a provider's own Shariah documentation and consult a qualified scholar for religious questions.

Can providers pay for a better grade?

No. Grades are computed from the same rubric for every provider and the methodology is published in full on this page. Even the editor's-pick points are capped at 4, positive-only, and require a published rationale. Providers can improve their grade one way: by publicly disclosing stronger Shariah oversight, real rates and fees, and a complete data profile.

Why do some New Zealand providers share the same grade?

Because their public disclosure profiles genuinely are similar. Providers with published certification or a named advisory board (EFCO, Always-Ethical) cluster near the top of the Shariah-integrity pillar, while community services with no published governance cluster lower. What separates leaders is the rest: publishing actual costs instead of quoting per customer, publishing a founding date, and documenting more of the product line. Where the registry can't verify a data point, the provider scores the conservative floor for it.

How often are grades updated?

Grades recompute whenever the underlying registry data changes: new Shariah certifications, new declared rates, fee changes, or new disclosures. Every change is re-reviewed before it publishes. The Index is a living scorecard, not an annual snapshot.

The independent scorecard for halal money in New Zealand

The Halal Money Index

Every New Zealand halal provider, graded from A to B− on a transparent rubric: Shariah integrity, transparency, pricing disclosure, track record, and verified data. Computed from HalalWallet's live provider registry, reviewed before publication, and updated whenever the data changes.

Quick Answer

The Halal Money Index grades every New Zealand halal finance provider from A to B- on Shariah integrity (35 points), transparency and data completeness (20), cost/value measured as pricing disclosure (15), track record (10), and verified data (20). Up to 4 further points are an editor's pick, awarded only with a published rationale. Coverage is shown for context but never scored. Of the 10 provider grades published so far, 0 earn an A or A-. The rest range from B+ down to B-, the floor grade, which means we don't yet have enough verified information rather than that a provider is bad. Grades are computed from HalalWallet's live provider registry and reviewed before publication.

Islamic Bank Accounts

Compare all islamic bank accounts options →

No halal bank account exists in New Zealand; this category documents the verified gap.

Grades for this category are in final editorial review and publish here first.

Islamic Home Financing

Compare all islamic home financing options →

Interest-free home pathways: Klimb's group co-ownership is the one live option in New Zealand.

B-
Klimb InvestmentsAwaiting verified dataMedium confidence
The most riba-clean home pathway in New Zealand because there is simply no debt in the stack, with about 30 completed Auckland projects since 2016, but no scholar, board, certificate or fee schedule is published and the live-in tier requires NZD 300,000 or more.
No public Shariah review · est. 2020 · Group co-ownership with proportional rent and staged buyout (Musharaka-style)
What we're missing to score higher:
- No public Shariah review on file
- Board members / scholars not named
- No published rates or fees on file
Recently verified Aug 2026

Islamic Car Financing

Compare all islamic car financing options →

Murabaha and zero-interest vehicle financing without conventional interest mechanics.

B
EFCO Ethical FinanceMedium confidence
New Zealand's only Sharia-certified vehicle lender does the structural things properly, fixed Murabaha profit, SRB certificates and an audit report published, charity-donated late fees, but no profit rate is printed anywhere and its two muftis are identified by first name only.
Third-party certified (Shariyah Review Bureau) · est. 2016 · available across New Zealand · Murabaha (cost-plus) vehicle finance with fixed profit
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
29/35
Transparency
15/20
Cost / value
4/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026

Halal Investing

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The AE Investor screened fund and the AAOIFI stock screeners Zoya and Musaffa.

B+
MusaffaHigh confidence
The research desk of NZ halal screening and the only tool with any NZX coverage, AAOIFI reports on 120,000+ securities with a full printed price grid, under advisory scholars its NZ-crawled materials describe but do not individually name.
Advisory scholars, not individually named in NZ materials · est. 2020 · available across New Zealand
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
24/35
Transparency
18/20
Cost / value
15/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026
B+
Always-EthicalHigh confidence
The only NZ-domiciled retail halal managed fund outside KiwiSaver, no minimum to start and purification quantified at 0.34% as a disclosed expense, but the printed 3.29% all-in cost stack and heavy cash timing have dragged five-year returns well behind the US market it invests in.
Named Shariah advisory board · est. 2013 · available across New Zealand
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
34/35
Transparency
17/20
Cost / value
6/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026
B+
ZoyaHigh confidence
The compliance layer that makes Sharesies, Hatch and Tiger usable for halal investors: free scholar-reviewed AAOIFI verdicts with subscription pricing printed, under two named advisors, though the NZX is not covered at all and broker linking does not reach NZ platforms.
Named-scholar oversight · est. 2020 · available across New Zealand
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
24/35
Transparency
18/20
Cost / value
15/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026

Islamic Retirement

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The AE KiwiSaver Plan, New Zealand's only Shariah-compliant KiwiSaver scheme.

B+
Always-EthicalHigh confidence
The only Shariah-compliant KiwiSaver in New Zealand, with a named three-scholar advisory board, daily AAOIFI-ratio screening and an annual external SAE 3100 assurance report, at a printed 3.16% estimated annual charge that is roughly ten times the cheapest NZ schemes.
Named Shariah advisory board · est. 2013 · available across New Zealand
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
34/35
Transparency
17/20
Cost / value
6/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026

Takaful

Compare all takaful options →

No takaful operator has ever been licensed in New Zealand; this category documents the gap.

Grades for this category are in final editorial review and publish here first.

Personal Financing

Compare all personal financing options →

Zero-interest personal lending from Good Shepherd, Ngā Tāngata, and the AhlulBayt qard hasan fund.

B-
AhlulBayt Centre North ShoreAwaiting verified dataHigh confidence
Textbook qard hasan with published terms: members borrow up to NZD 10,000 for at most a year and repay exactly the principal, though the fund is committee-run with no formal Shariah review and access requires centre membership and a guarantor.
No public Shariah review · est. 2001 · Qard hasan (benevolent interest-free loan)
What we're missing to score higher:
- No public Shariah review on file
- Board members / scholars not named
Recently verified Aug 2026

Islamic Business Financing

Compare all islamic business financing options →

EFCO's SRB-certified Murabaha for business vehicles, equipment and assets.

B
EFCO Ethical FinanceMedium confidence
The only Sharia-certified business finance in the country, fixed-profit Murabaha with a published haram-industry screen from a 100% shareholder-funded lender, priced entirely by individual quote with no rate card or fee schedule in print.
Third-party certified (Shariyah Review Bureau) · est. 2016 · available across New Zealand · Murabaha (cost-plus) business and asset finance
Score breakdown
Shariah integrity
29/35
Transparency
15/20
Cost / value
4/15
Track record
10/10
Verified data
20/20
Recently verified Aug 2026

How the grades work

Pillar	Points	What we measure
Shariah integrity	35	Strength of oversight: formal Shariah board (strongest) → third-party certification → named scholar → no public review (weakest). Claims require published evidence; an unsubstantiated “formal board” scores at the named-scholar tier.
Transparency	20	Are the board members named? Is the oversight detail published? Are real fee and rate numbers in plain sight? Plus data completeness: the more of their profile a provider shares, the more they earn. Disclosure always beats silence.
Cost / value	15	Pricing transparency, not price level: publishing actual declared rates, spreads, fees or expense ratios scores; pointing customers to an unpublished Schedule of Charges does not. Where nothing numeric is on file the pillar scores a conservative floor and is flagged.
Track record	10	A legitimacy check, not a longevity contest: at least a year in operation earns full marks. Decades in business don't add points, but brand-new pop-ups and undisclosed founding dates can't hold a top score.
Verified data	20	How recently our editorial team verified the provider's data against its published pages and documents. The credit decays when verification goes stale, so a strong grade cannot coast on old data. Coverage is displayed but never scored.
Editor's pick	4	Positive-only editorial points for real, documented benefits no rubric can quantify. Awarded only with a published rationale. A perfect 100 requires it, but an A doesn't.

Letter scale

A 90+ · A- 85+ · B+ 78+ · B 70+ · B- 0+. B− is the floor: it means we don't yet have enough verified information to score the provider higher, not that the provider is bad. Floor-tier rows show what's missing instead of a numeric score. Products with structural red flags, such as undisclosed riba, are removed from the Index rather than graded.

Verified data decays

Verified data is worth 20 points, a fifth of the grade. Past 30 days without re-verification the credit decays (minus 8, then minus 14 at 60 days, minus 20 at 90) until the data is confirmed again, so stale data cannot keep a strong grade.

The Index is an editorial transparency rating, not a religious ruling or financial advice. Grades are computed from HalalWallet's provider registry, reviewed before publication, and recomputed when the underlying data changes. Confidence labels reflect how complete a provider's verified data is. Providers cannot pay for a grade. See our methodology for how the registry itself is built.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to cite this page

Preferred format:

HalalWallet. “The Halal Money Index.” HalalWallet, https://www.halalwallet.nz/halal-money-index. Accessed 2026-08-13.

For time-sensitive claims (rates, fees, state availability), please verify directly with the provider's official documentation and note the retrieval date.

Important: HalalWallet provides educational information and comparisons to help you explore halal financial options. We do not provide financial, legal, or religious advice. Product structures and Shariah compliance oversight vary by provider. Always verify halal compliance directly with providers and consult with qualified Islamic finance advisors or scholars for guidance on specific products and your individual circumstances.