Ayan Capital secures FCA credit license and launches tech-driven Islamic consumer finance

Regulatory approval positions Ayan Capital to expand Shariah-compliant finance solutions to the retail market

LONDON, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ayan Capital, a leader in B2B Shariah-compliant car finance, has officially secured authorisation from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to enter into regulated consumer credit agreements as a lender. This marks a major milestone in its plan to provide a digitally enabled Islamic finance ecosystem.

The fintech has been disrupting the private hire segment in the UK, which includes 300,000+ drivers; a segment typically disregarded by banks and conventional finance institutions due to higher perceived risks. Against those odds, Ayan has retained an exceptionally high-quality portfolio, attributing its success to its data-driven underwriting approach.

Serving businesses and sole traders for less than 2 years, Ayan has generated £127 million in demand from leads on its website in the last 3 months alone. However, some had to be turned away due to Ayan not having the license to provide car finance for consumers, whilst others didn't meet responsible underwriting thresholds – resulting in £2.6 million in finance issued in the last quarter. Having been granted authorisation this month by the FCA, Ayan can now serve retail customers, addressing the UK's £40 billion/year retail car market; as well as eyeing the introduction of additional Shariah-compliant consumer finance products.

Abdullo Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder of Ayan, said: "We are excited about the next phase of growth for Ayan. We are currently in funding discussions, which will allow Ayan to scale its operations to £10 million origination per month in the next 6-9 months, whilst offering customers not only halal finance, but also customer-centric processes, tech and pricing. This is about more than finance; it's about financial inclusion and choice for millions in the UK."

Zarrina Rajabova, CIO of Ayan, and ex-CIO of Alif Bank, said: "We have been building banking-grade scalable technologies to offer innovative Shariah compliant solutions for over 11 years now between Alif and Ayan. Through Alif, having built our own Core Banking system, payment solutions, apps, internet banking and so on for regulated financial products across 3 jurisdictions in Central and South Asia, we have learned how to build these technologies from scratch in multiple agile iterations. These technologies today are at the core of a digital ecosystem we built that processed US$ 4.5 billion in payments alone in 2024, doubling every year. With this authorisation, our mission at Ayan is to apply that experience and know-how here in the UK – to make halal financing truly technology-driven and accessible to everyone seeking ethical finance."

According to Fitch, a ratings agency, Islamic banking assets in the UK have climbed to $11.4 billion as of the end of 2024, demonstrating an impressive 38% YoY growth. Yet Muslims in the UK remain underserved, with surveys showing 3.52 million Muslims in the UK would opt for an Islamic banking solution, if there was one, alongside 30% of non-Muslims who would also consider it, according to a consumer report published by Gatehouse Bank. The introduction of Ayan's consumer finance products, paired with its objective to apply for a banking license in 2026, brings Ayan one step closer to building a platform of seamlessly integrated, technology-driven, competitively priced Shariah-compliant finance products in the UK.

About Ayan Capital

Ayan Capital is a fintech startup building a tech-driven Halal finance ecosystem. Founded in 2023 by Abdullo Kurbanov, Firdavs Mirzoev, and Zuhursho Rahmatulloev – the team behind Alif Bank, a leading fintech in Central Asia – Ayan today offers Shariah-compliant vehicle finance in the UK. Its edge is rooted in an automated, data-led underwriting process, allowing for rapidly precise decisions, and a completely digital operating model, with stringent Shariah auditing. The result is a modern, values driven alternative to conventional credit. Recently authorised by the FCA for consumer credit, they look towards applying for a banking license, to expand into a suite of Islamic financial services. Ayan Capital is headquartered in Paddington, London and operates across the UK.

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Contact: 
Shehrez Riaz
+44 7747422203
s.riaz@ayan.co.uk