TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard)
Islamic Bank Accounts in Lagos
TAJBank's transaction account for individuals and salary earners, taken on Qard, a benevolent deposit that attracts no return. The Payroll Current Account opens with zero balance and includes internet banking, a debit card, email and SMS alerts and access to facilities, requiring an account opening form, a passport photograph, an employer introduction letter on company letterhead and a staff identity card. The broader current account is also offered to businesses. As a Qard account it pays no profit; it is a payments hub rather than a savings vehicle, aimed at employees receiving salary and anyone needing riba-free day-to-day banking.
TAJBank's current and payroll accounts are exactly what a non-interest transaction account should be: opened on Qard, guaranteed, instantly accessible, and paying nothing, because paying a fixed return on a loan would be interest. The zero opening balance and full toolkit, card, internet banking and alerts, make it easy to adopt, and domiciling your salary here is also the gateway to TAJ's financing products. The payroll version does require an employer introduction letter, so it is built for people in formal employment. As always with TAJ, maintenance and transaction fees are not spelled out on the site, so confirm those at onboarding. Treat this purely as a payments hub, route your salary through it and keep any savings in the Partnership or Mudharabah products, and it does its job cleanly and in line with your values.
Pros
- Zero opening balance lowers the barrier to entry
- Full transactional tooling with card and alerts included
- Salary domiciliation opens access to TAJ financing
- Principal guaranteed and available on demand under Qard
Cons
- Pays no profit by design
- Payroll variant requires an employer introduction letter
- Account maintenance and transaction fees are not published
- Any gift is discretionary and cannot be relied on
Open Account
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Product Details
Account Type
Current Account
Monthly Fee
Not stated on the product page
Min Deposit
Zero opening balance (payroll account)
Structure
None - Qard demand deposit, no profit
TAJBank in Lagos
TAJBank's Current Account serves customers in Lagos. Islamic savings accounts in Nigeria pay a share of actual Mudarabah pool profit rather than interest, while current accounts run on Qard or Wadi'ah safekeeping. A monthly fee of Not stated on the product page applies. Deposits at CBN-licensed non-interest banks are covered by NDIC deposit insurance up to the prescribed limit. TAJBank operates across Nigeria, so Lagos residents have full access to this product.
Our Take on TAJBank
TAJBank is the challenger that grew up fast. Licensed in 2019, it broke even in its first year, earned a national licence by 2022, and in 2023 became the first corporate in Nigeria to list a sukuk on the exchange, a genuine capital-markets milestone that anchors its identity. By end-2024 it held N953.1bn in assets on the back of 84% annual growth, run through a digital-first model and a very large agent-banking network aimed at financial inclusion. For customers, the draw is a modern, sukuk-savvy non-interest bank with a clean, low-fee deposit range (zero-maintenance current, domiciliary and investment accounts), a standout retail Sukuk Investment Service from just N10,000, and Murabaha, Ijara, Istisna and Kafala finance for traders and businesses. Its Advisory Committee of Experts is chaired by a globally recognised sukuk scholar, which fits the franchise. Two honest limits stand out. First, TAJBank has no dedicated retail home-purchase mortgage: residential lending runs through Istisna construction finance, so buyers of existing homes are not served the way Jaiz serves them. Second, like the whole sector, TAJBank publishes almost no financing margins or deposit profit-sharing ratios, so pricing emerges only on application. As a digital, capital-markets-oriented halal bank it is compelling; as a home-finance provider it is not yet there.
How TAJBank Works
Financing Structure
TAJBank uses the core Islamic contracts, each tied to real activity. Deposits use Qard (interest-free, guaranteed, no return) for savings, current, payroll, domiciliary and youth accounts, and profit-sharing partnerships, Musharaka and Mudarabah, for the Partnership savings account, Emerald Kiddies account and Mudharabah time deposit, where returns are a share of real profit rather than interest. The Wakalah investment service has the bank act as agent for a fee (Ujrah). Sukuk investing gives customers ownership certificates in real assets whose rentals or profits fund the return. On the financing side, Murabahah (cost-plus sale of a bank-owned asset) covers auto, asset and trader finance and working capital; Ijara leases services and assets for rent; Istisna funds commissioned construction and manufacturing; Wakala underlies cash-covered letters of credit; Kafala underlies bonds and guarantees; and Musharaka provides genuine equity partnership sharing profit and loss. TAJBank does not lend cash at interest; income comes from trading margins, rent, fees for service and shares of real profit.
In-Depth Analysis
History and scale. TAJBank secured its CBN licence on 3 July 2019 and began operations on 2 December 2019 with two pioneer branches, in Abuja and Kano, adding Sokoto in August 2020. It made an early mark by becoming the first non-interest bank in Nigeria to break even in its first financial year, lifting total assets from N9bn at end-2019 to N50bn a year later, and earned a national banking licence in August 2022. Growth has stayed steep: 2024 audited accounts show total assets of N953.1bn (up 84% from N518.3bn), customer deposits of N696.4bn (up 89% from N369.3bn), financing of N272.1bn (up 88%), gross earnings of N77.5bn (up 80%) and profit before tax of N18.2bn (up 61% from N11.3bn), with total equity of N61.25bn. It now runs 50-plus branches and over 1,500 staff.
Sukuk pioneering. TAJBank's defining achievement is in the capital markets. In late 2022 it issued the first tranche of a N100bn sukuk programme, a N10bn Additional Tier 1 Mudarabah sukuk with loss-absorbency features, which was oversubscribed to N11.4bn (113.6%), and in February 2023 it became the first corporate in Nigeria and the West African sub-region to list a sukuk on the Nigerian Exchange. This is not a marketing line; it directly shapes the bank's retail proposition, which includes a Sukuk Investment Service letting ordinary customers invest in sukuk from N10,000 with no upfront, subscription or redemption fees.
Product shelf. Deposits are clean and low-fee: tiered Qard savings mapped to CBN KYC levels, a profit-sharing Partnership (Musharaka) savings account, zero-balance Qard current and payroll accounts, a zero-maintenance domiciliary account in USD/EUR/GBP, the Emerald Kiddies account (N2,000 entry, monthly profit), the Vibe youth account, a Mudharabah time deposit (N500,000, 1-12 months) and Wakalah agency investment. Financing runs through Murabahah cost-plus asset and auto finance, the collateral-light Murabaha for Traders (N500,000-N5m, up to N10m for repeat customers, 90 days), Istisna construction and manufacturing finance, working-capital and import Murabaha, Wakalah letters of credit, Kafala bonds and guarantees, and Musharaka equity partnership. TAJBank also secured Letter of Credit Dealership and foreign-exchange licences noted in its 2024 accounts.
Shariah governance. The Advisory Committee of Experts has four named members: Asst. Prof. Dr. Ziyaad Mahomed (Chairman; INCEIF University, Malaysia, who also chairs HSBC Amanah Malaysia and has structured major sovereign and corporate sukuk), Dr. Muhammed Tabiu SAN (Professor of Islamic Law, Bayero University Kano), Dr. Sa'id Adekunle Mikail (ISRA researcher and INCEIF lecturer) and Usama Saleh (Secretary and Head of Sharia Audit, a pioneer non-interest banker formerly of Jaiz Bank). The chair's sukuk expertise is a natural fit for a bank whose identity is built on sukuk. TAJBank operates under the CBN non-interest framework and FRACE.
Pricing transparency and gaps. As across the sector, TAJBank publishes almost no financing margins, guarantee fees or deposit profit-sharing ratios, so pricing appears only at application. Two specific gaps matter: there is no dedicated retail home-purchase mortgage, residential finance runs through Istisna construction, so a buyer of an existing home is not served the way Jaiz serves them; and the savings page labels its profit-sharing account inconsistently as both Mudarabah and Musharaka.
Assessment. TAJBank is the modern, capital-markets-oriented face of Nigerian Islamic finance: fast-growing, profitable, digital-first, and genuinely distinctive on sukuk. It suits investors and tech-comfortable customers well, and its trader finance is thoughtfully inclusive. It is not the bank for someone buying a home, and it asks you to negotiate prices without public benchmarks. Weighed against Jaiz, it trades depth and a home-finance product for digital polish and sukuk leadership.
Shariah Compliance Details
- Formal Advisory Committee of Experts with four named members, chaired by Asst. Prof. Dr. Ziyaad Mahomed of INCEIF University (who also chairs HSBC Amanah Malaysia); profiles published on the ACE Management page (verified 2026-08-04).
- Regulated as a non-interest bank under the Central Bank of Nigeria framework and its Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE); holds ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 certifications (verified 2026-08-04).
- First corporate in Nigeria to list a sukuk on the NGX (February 2023): a N10bn Additional Tier 1 Mudarabah sukuk oversubscribed to N11.4bn under a N100bn programme (verified 2026-08-04).
- Deposit contracts (Qard, Musharaka, Mudarabah, Wakala) and financing contracts (Murabahah, Ijara, Istisna, Wakala, Kafala, Musharaka) are named on the product pages, but profit rates, ratios and margins are not disclosed; the savings page labels its profit account inconsistently (verified 2026-08-04).
How TAJBank Compares
Among Nigeria's non-interest banks, TAJBank is the fast-moving challenger to Jaiz Bank. It is younger (2019 versus 2011) and smaller (N953.1bn versus N1.08 trillion in assets), and unlike Jaiz it is not listed on the NGX as an equity, though it pioneered corporate sukuk listing there. TAJBank's edges are digital experience, a very large agent network for inclusion, low-fee accounts and, above all, sukuk leadership; its clearest gap versus Jaiz is the absence of a dedicated retail home-purchase mortgage, which Jaiz provides through diminishing Musharaka. Against the newer entrants, Lotus Bank and The Alternative Bank (Sterling's non-interest arm), TAJBank has more scale, a longer operating record and the capital-markets pedigree, while those rivals compete mainly on app polish and urban retail branding. Summit Bank is a later arrival still building presence. A customer weighing TAJBank against Jaiz is really choosing between TAJBank's modern, sukuk-centric, digital model and Jaiz's greater depth, listing and home-finance capability; against Lotus or The Alternative Bank, TAJBank offers more product breadth and a stronger balance sheet.
The larger, older, NGX-listed non-interest bank with the deepest product shelf and a genuine Ijara home-finance product TAJBank lacks; less digital polish and no sukuk-listing pedigree.
A newer digital-first non-interest bank focused on urban retail and SMEs; comparable modern feel but far smaller than TAJBank with no sukuk-issuance track record.
Sterling's non-interest arm, strong on design and brand and backed by a large parent, but younger and without TAJBank's capital-markets and agent-banking scale.
A recent non-interest entrant still building scale; not yet a match for TAJBank's asset base, sukuk pedigree or agent network.
Bottom Line
TAJBank is the modern, sukuk-led choice in Nigerian Islamic banking: licensed in 2019, profitable from year one, the first corporate to list a sukuk on the NGX, and now near a trillion naira in assets on a digital-first, agent-heavy model. Its low-fee accounts and N10,000 retail sukuk service are standouts, and its ACE chair is a globally recognised sukuk scholar. The real limits are the lack of a retail home mortgage (residential runs through Istisna construction) and, as sector-wide, unpublished financing rates. Pick TAJBank for digital, investment and trader banking; look to Jaiz if home finance or maximum depth is the priority.
Read full TAJBank reviewShariah Compliance & Oversight
Advisory Committee of Experts (ACE), a formal Shariah supervisory board. Named members per the ACE Management page: Asst. Professor Dr. Ziyaad Mahomed (Chairman; Assistant Professor and Lead Researcher in Shari'ah at INCEIF University, Malaysia, who also chairs the Shariah boards of HSBC Amanah Malaysia and other institutions), Dr. Muhammed Tabiu SAN (Member; Professor of Islamic Law at the Faculty of Law, Bayero University Kano), Dr. Sa'id Adekunle Mikail (Member; Researcher at the International Shari'ah Research Academy ISRA and lecturer at INCEIF), and Usama Saleh (Secretary and Head of Sharia Audit; a pioneer non-interest banker formerly of Jaiz Bank). TAJBank also operates under the Central Bank of Nigeria non-interest banking framework and its Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE).
2026-08-04
Why It's Halal
The current and payroll accounts use Qard, an interest-free loan from the customer to the bank. The bank guarantees the deposit and repays it on demand, and because a Qard by definition returns only the principal with no pre-agreed increase, it avoids riba entirely. This is the standard, uncontroversial contract for a non-interest current account across the industry: the customer gets guaranteed, on-demand access and full transactional functionality, while the bank may use the pooled funds in its own Shariah-compliant operations and keep any resulting profit as the risk-bearing party. The salary-account variant simply layers payroll credentials on top of the same Qard base. TAJBank's Advisory Committee of Experts oversees the structure under CBN non-interest rules. The honest caveats: Qard pays nothing, so this account will not grow your money and is not meant to, any hibah gift is at the bank's discretion and cannot be promised in advance without resembling interest, and the payroll variant requires an employer letter, so it is tied to formal employment.
Regional Availability
TAJBank serves all of Nigeria
✓ Available nationwide including Lagos
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NationwideFrequently Asked Questions
What is TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard)?
Why is TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard) considered halal?
Is TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard) available in Lagos?
What Shariah oversight does TAJBank have?
What financing structure does TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard) use?
How do I apply for TAJBank TAJBank Current / Payroll Account (Qard) in Lagos?
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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.