Gulf African Bank loans : See Interest rates,Shariah banking, paybill ,USSD

Bank Information and Reviews

[Update: 05.04.2022]

Gulf African Bank is a Shariah Compliant and Kenya’s premier Islamic bank that offers ethical and fair banking for all persons irrespective of their faith.

Incorporated in Kenya in 2005, Gulf African bank works with individuals and businesses, helping SMEs scale up their growth through financing and advisory services.

Just recently, GAB partnered with Mpesa to introduce Halal Pesa. Read more below..

What we Know about Gulf African Bank

Gulf African Bank is one of Kenyas’ top preferred Islamic banks. Since its inception, they have grown their portfolio to include retail banking, Asset financing, SME and an array of other banking products and services.

Most importantly is GAB is fully-fledged and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya and is the strongest Islamic bank, stretching its services to include diaspora banking.

Islamic banking is an interest-free, asset-based financing system and not currency based. Simply put, Shari’ah-compliant means/refers to the divine guidance and laws according to the Quran and guiding principle of the Hadith and the prophet Muhamad ~pbuh~.

What Loans does Gulf African Bank offer & What are they Best known for?

Under personal financing, you can have access to various types of loans covering bonds, working capital for your business to LPO financing and more.

Gulf African Bank offers a series of financing options both for personal, SME and corporate ‘loans’. Under Personal Financing, one has access to: –

Personal finance,
Auto finance,
Home, construction and plot finance.

In regard to business loans with Gulf, it’s best to apply for it under the ‘Jichanue’ account.

On the other hand, for personal loans, especially for women, the ‘Annisa’ account is the way to go.

Recently, in a partnership with Safaricom, HalalPesa was born. This move is meant to cater to Muslims in regard to accessing digital loans within Shariah rules. Customers accessing the service get 30 days as a full repayment at a 5% commodity Murabaha margin

The exact cost of a loan with Gulf African Bank & a representative example?

For Islamic banking, getting an exact cost of a loan might be tricky as the kind of lending services offered are based on consumption. This means the financing will have to cover areas like school fees, medical bills and related goods or services like home improvement.

With that said, we can give a representative example of an estimate. If you are interested in taking up financing with Gulf African Bank, let’s say for a loan amount of Ksh.1,000,000, it will resemble the below example.

Repayment period of 48 months,
Annual Interest Rate at 10%
Monthly Payment of Ksh.25,362.58

Total Interest paid on the loan = Ksh. 217,404.

Total Principal & Interest = Ksh. 1,217,404.06

*Please note that the above calculation is indicative. For a direct quote, contact Gulf African using the communication channels on the contact section or visit any of their branches.*

Can you download the Gulf African Banking App?

Yes, you can download the Gulf African Banking app on Google Play Stores and Apple stores.

Consequently, for USSD services, GAB Pesa *399# is the code to dial into the mobile banking services that enable paying of bills, transfer of monies and other digital banking services.

The first thing to remember is the charge for subscribing to mobile banking is Ksh 10 with services accessible on both Safaricom and airtel lines. Be that as it may, see other cost charges for GAB services.

Subscription fee 10
SMS Notifications.- Ksh.5
GAB to Mpesa- Ksh. 60
M-PESA charges for Mpesa to GAB Transactions
GAB to GAB funds transfer- Ksh. 40
Airtime top-up- Ksh.10
Forex Rate Enquiry – Free

Ensure your phone is updated to android version 4.0 and up and has enough RAM storage. Also, 985050 is the official pay bill for Gulf African Bank.

How can you get a Personal Loan from Gulf African Bank?

It is particularly important to remember that the Gulf African bank is shariah-compliant, just like FCB. That, in itself, has its own eligibility criteria. Therefore credit is given for production services rather than consumption.

However, you will need to have the following requirements on hand when you go to access their personal financing services.

Duly completed facility application form.
Certified payslips for the last 3 months.
Letter of introduction from your employer.
Certified Bank Statements for the last 3 months.
Sketch map your place of residence.
Copy of ID/Passport & Copy of KRA PIN Certificate.
Passport size photo (1)
School fees structure, medical bill/quotation or a proforma invoice for soft financing.

You may also be requested for other details to certify if you are eligible. On the plus side, should you be interested in an unsecured-ish loan and have no payslip, Gulf can sort you with one. All you need is to:

Sign up for life insurance ( With Gulf.)
Collateral, (log book, title deed or similar.)
2% admission + insurance
Joint registration with Gulf on what you put as security. ( If logbook-NTSA.)
Bank statements, if not a Gulf account holder.

The amount you can get on this will be based on the value of the asset you put as collateral.

How does Gulf African Bank Determine your Eligibility and Cost of Credit?

Gulf African bank offers its services to both Islamic and non-Islamic individuals for both personal and corporate clients.

Not being a Muslim or a member of the Islamic faith will not affect your eligibility. Surprisingly, you just have to be okay with the requirements of Islamic banking.

As a standard procedure, your cost of credit will go through CRB checks to see if it meets the 5C criteria to determine your ‘paying power.’

Applicant’s credit history – Character.
Applicant’s debt-to-income ratio – Capacity.
The amount of money an applicant has – Capital.
An asset that can back or act as security for the loan – Collateral.
The purpose of the loan, the amount involved, and prevailing interest rates.- Conditions.

Amounts, Terms and Interest Rates from Gulf African Bank

In line with CBK directives, GAB has made changes to its rates and for the amount beginning, Ksh 20,000 to a maximum of Ksh, 3,000,000, interest rates are based on Murabaha / Tawarruq Sharia’h Agreement.

Albeit, you are given a period of between 12 – 60 months to offset your financing.

Disbursements and Repayments at Gulf African Bank

Once qualified for a personal finance loan at Gulf African Bank, you will need to open an account to allow for disbursement. That is if you don’t have one.

On the positive side, should the approval go through, the finance purpose reflects directly within 48 hrs, ( if soft and below 50,000) or within 5 working days. for larger amounts.

What Unique Features does Gulf African Bank have to offer?

We could not find any unique features offered by Gulf African Bank at the moment.

How to Contact Gulf African Bank

If you would like to contact Gulf A African Bank directly, you can call them through +254711075000 or 0202740000, or 0729111537. This line is not toll-free. Be prepared as calling charges will apply.

Preferably you can send an email using [email protected]. Or, If you are looking to physically go there, head over to,

Geminia Insurance Plaza, First Floor, Upperhill Nairobi.

In conclusion, to access GAB social media handles, please click the desired hyperlink to be redirected to their official pages.