Shariah compliant savings products have a traditional association in the Indonesian market for individuals saving for specific events often of religious significance such as Hajj for which Indonesia is one of the largest sources of pilgrims each year. However increasing numbers of Indonesian consumers are turning to shariah savings products for greater security and more competitive returns which is in turn, boosting the country’s Islamic banking assets and facilitating the sector’s expansion.
Bank Muamalat offers a broad selection of shariah saving deposit products in both Rupiah and US Dollar denominations which provide customers with easy access to their funds through the Shar–E Debit or Shar–E Gold card. The most recent additions to the product portfolio are the iB Muamalat Wisata Savings which is designed for customers planning trips and the iB Muamalat Prima Savings targeted at clients seeking higher profit sharing equivalence to their deposits in accordance with shariah principles.
Evolving lifestyles and attitudes among Indonesian consumers and their approach to shariah saving products have served as the basis for Bank Muamalat’s additional products including the Muamalat Retirement Fund to provide institutions and individuals with pension fund and life insurance coverage. Flexible time deposit products that adhere to shariah law provide even further choice to Bank Muamalat’s customers for their savings needs. These can also be used as collateral when applying for financing as well as being used as efficient financial planning tools.
Bank Muamalat has successfully carved out a dominant position within the shariah consumer savings segment through ensuring widespread accessibility for its customers via a strategic partnership with the post office (PT Pos) online network. The bank’s shariah savings products have therefore proved highly appealing to the Indonesian consumer market with the amount of low cost funds growing by 40.74% yoy to 18.17 trillion RP in 2012 while the Muamalat Berbagi Rezeki loyalty program is facilitating further growth in the bank’s retail and merchant customer base for shariah savings products.
