
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank
In a major milestone for Pakistan's digital financial ecosystem, Raqami Islamic Digital Bank, the country's first Islamic digital bank, has partnered with Haball, a pioneering fintech focused on B2B supply chain digitisation, to roll out Shariah-compliant, embedded supply chain financing targeted at addressing key pain points of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
By embedding Islamic financing options directly within the corporate's existing supply chain workflows, the platform provides SMEs access to collateral-free liquidity based on their receivables and purchase orders—without the friction of traditional financing applications and pledging of assets.
The partnership responds to a critical national need: despite contributing over 40% to GDP and employing the majority of the workforce, over 90% of Pakistan's SMEs remain financially underserved.
Through this partnership, Raqami's SME customers will be able to use Haball's
platform to operationalise a digitally native finance model that empowers SME businesses with access to working capital, precisely when and where it's needed—within existing business workflows.
This initiative supports a cornerstone of the State Bank of Pakistan's financial inclusion roadmap and promotes innovation and digitisation in the sphere of Supply Chain Finance.
Key features of the Raqami - Haball partnership entail:
End-to-end digital onboarding and Shariah- compliant KYC
Murabaha-based financing structures for fresh purchase orders
Seamless integration with ERPs, anchor-led ecosystems and distributor networks
Instant disbursements through embedded Islamic financing rails, ensuring immediate liquidity and cashflow relief
AI-powered credit assessment based on actual cash flows and transaction history, reducing dependency on static credit scording
Full audit trails and real-time exposure tracking, ensuring compliance, transparency, and control for both financiers and anchors
Umair Aijaz, CEO of Raqami Islamic Digital Bank quoted:
Our mission at Raqami is to reimagine Islamic banking through innovation. This partnership with Haball enables us to bring Shariah-compliant embedded finance to the very heart of Pakistan's supply chains—empowering SMEs to enjoy real, tangible access to capital and growth, without compromising their values.
Omer Bin Ahsan, Founder and CEO of Haball, added:
At Haball, we've always believed that the future of finance lies in embedded, contextual offerings. By partnering with Raqami, we are embedding Islamic finance into the transactional core of the existing SME ecosystem—democratising access to capital and accelerating supply chain transparency.
About Raqami Islamic Digital Bank
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Limited is Pakistan's first Islamic digital retail bank, awarded a Restricted License by the State Bank of Pakistan to commence Pilot Operations under the Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks. Raqami aims to offer inclusive, Shariah-compliant financial solutions through a digitally innovative, tech-first approach.
The bank is backed by Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited and Enertech Holding Company KSC, a subsidiary of Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, Kuwait Investment Authority. With a vision to build trust and transparency, Raqami intends to serve the evolving needs of modern retail banking customers.
About Haball
Haball is a leading Pakistani fintech transforming B2B payments and supply chains through embedded finance. Haball works with banks, corporates, and distributors to digitise transactions and enable access to credit and liquidity for SMEs through secure, real-time infrastructure.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan signs $4.5bn loans with local banks to ease power sector debt
KARACHI: Pakistan has signed term sheets with 18 commercial banks for a 1.275 trillion Pakistani rupee ($4.50 billion) Islamic finance facility to help pay down mounting debt in its power sector, government officials said on Friday. The government, which owns or controls much of the power infrastructure, is grappling with ballooning 'circular debt', unpaid bills and subsidies, that has choked the sector and weighed on the economy. The liquidity crunch has disrupted supply, discouraged investment and added to fiscal pressure, making it a key focus under Pakistan's $7 billion IMF programme. Finding funds to plug the gap has been a persistent challenge, with limited fiscal space and high-cost legacy debt making resolution efforts more difficult. 'Eighteen commercial banks will provide the loans through Islamic financing,' Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister, told Reuters. Power sector circular debt plan okayed by Cabinet The facility, structured under Islamic principles, is secured at a concessional rate of 3-month KIBOR, the benchmark rate banks use to price loans, minus 0.9%, a formula agreed on by the IMF. 'It will be repaid in 24 quarterly instalments over six years,' and will not add to public debt, Power Minister Awais Leghari said. Existing liabilities carry higher costs, including late payment surcharges on Independent Power Producers of up to KIBOR plus 4.5%, and older loans ranging slightly above benchmark rates. Meezan Bank, HBL, National Bank of Pakistan and UBL were among the banks participating in the deal. The government expects to allocate 323 billion rupees annually to repay the loan, capped at 1.938 trillion rupees over six years. The agreement also aligns with Pakistan's target of eliminating interest-based banking by 2028, with Islamic finance now comprising about a quarter of total banking assets.


Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Copper gains on dollar dip but geopolitical, tariff uncertainty linger
LONDON: Copper prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a slightly softer dollar, although gains were capped by concerns over the Iran-Israel war, U.S. tariffs and Chinese demand. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4% at $9,652 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. Earlier in the session, prices hit the weakest since June 13 at $9,558.50. The U.S. dollar index eased 0.3%, making dollar-denominated metals more attractive to buyers using other currencies. 'We've got the geopolitical uncertainty in the background although maybe a little bit of reprieve on that side in the sense that Trump wants to allow a bit more time for diplomacy,' said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. U.S. President Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran air war, the White House said on Thursday. 'But we still have all the trade fears, which may have become a secondary feature over the last week. It's not that fardown the line before the expiry of the 90-day pause on the Liberation Day tariffs.' Copper hits near one-week low on stronger dollar, growth fears The 90-day pause in Trump's broadest 'reciprocal' tariffs will end on July 8. A Shanghai-based metals analyst at a futures firm said in addition to the Middle East and U.S. interest rates, investors were concerned about weaker demand in top metals consumer China. China's refined copper output in May gained 13.6% on the year to 1.25 million metric tons, data on Wednesday showed, in line with April's output, while the country's demand for metals such as copper and aluminium has been muted by summer seasonal weakness. U.S. Comex copper futures steadied at $4.88 a lb, bringing the premium of Comex over LME copper to over $1,000 a ton. Among other metals, LME aluminium ticked up 0.3% to $2,529, nickel fell 0.8% to $14,940, zinc edged up 0.1% to $2,643.5, lead dropped 0.2% to $1,988.5 while tin gained 1.3% to $32,425.


Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Palm oil logs sixth weekly gain, highest in two months
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Friday, logging a sixth consecutive weekly gain, despite weak demand in key markets. The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 11 ringgit, or 0.27%, to 4,115 ringgit ($968.24) a metric ton, the highest closing price since April 15. The contract gained 4.79% this week. Trading volumes have been relatively thin and prices have largely factored in most internal and external variables, Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari, said. 'Going forward, sustaining the current trend will require additional bullish news to emerge. The demand side will be particularly crucial in July as the current market rally has been premised solely on external factors and has not yet demonstrated a robust increase in demand.' Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 0.44%, while the palm oil contract gained 0.05%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 1.5%. Palm flat as strong Dalian oils counter weak demand Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Cargo surveyors estimated that exports of Malaysian palm oil products during June 1-20 rose between 10.9% and 14.3%, compared with the same period a month ago. Oil prices fell, but remained on course for a third consecutive weekly rise, after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.16% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.