The IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price is rocketing after the company announced multiple "important milestones" for its instalment-based consumer finance product suite's development.
IOUpay's MyIOU Islamic – announced last month – has had two major wins.
At the time of writing, the IOUpay share price is 8.4 cents, 16.67% higher than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look at today's news from the South East Asia-focused fintech company.
IOUpay share price gains on MyIOU Islamic wins
It's turned out to be a big day for the IOUpay share price.
Its day in the sun followed an update of the company's plan to offer BNPL products consistent with Shariah principles and the practices of Islamic finance.
The offering is expected to give the company access to new markets in Malaysia and other South East Asian nations with large Islamic populations.
Certification of Shariah Compliance
Firstly, the company has been granted certification of Shariah Compliance by independent global Shariah advisory firm, Tawafuq Consultancy.
The certification is expected to allow the product access to Islamic financing and BNPL opportunities within industry best practices for Shariah principles.
Following the win, the company is looking to offer both conventional and Islamic financing. That requires partitioning of the myIOU portfolio, separate documentation, and an Islamic bank account for all Shariah compliant transactions.
It also requires the platform to integrate with an Islamic payment gateway. Fortunately, IOUpay has also entered an agreement to do just that.
Islamic payment gateway integration
The second major update regards a merchant acquiring services agreement signed between IOUpay Asia and PayHalal.
Under the agreement, PayHalal can acquire and refer merchants that follow Shariah principles who want to offer customers BNPL options consistent with Shariah principles and the practices of Islamic finance to IOUpay Asia.
PayHalal's payment gateway has already been integrated into the myIOU BNPL platform.
IOUpay share price snapshot
Its been a rough year for ASX BNPL shares so far, and the IOUpay share price hasn't escaped the downturn.
The company's stock has slipped nearly 47% since the start of 2022. It has also plunged 66% since this time last year.