Mauritius
The Banking Act lets licensed banks run Islamic windows and lets the Bank of Mauritius grant Islamic banking licences, under a guideline revised in July 2018. No bank with Islamic products was found: Century Banking Corporation lost its Islamic licence in August 2020 and Habib Bank, which had a window, left Mauritius on 31 August 2024.
Five checks
Banking rulesFound
Under amendments made to the Banking Act 2004 by the Finance Act 2007, licensed banks are deemed licensed to run an Islamic window, and the Bank of Mauritius may grant a licence for Islamic banking only. The Bank of Mauritius 'Guideline for Institutions Conducting Islamic Banking Business' was first issued in June 2008 and the revised version came into operation on 27 July 2018.
- “Islamic banking can be carried out in Mauritius either through a window or by operating a full-fledged Islamic bank.”
Economic Development Board Mauritius (Mauritius IFC) - “existing banks licensed under the Banking Act 2004 are deemed to be licensed to carry on Islamic banking business through a window”
Bank of Mauritius · 2018-07-27
Licensed banks and windowsNot checked
- “revoked the Islamic Banking Licence of Century Banking Corporation Ltd”
Bank of Mauritius · 2020-08-24 - “granted a new banking licence to Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to conduct Islamic banking business through a window operation”
Bank of Mauritius · 2014-05-22 - “Accordingly, Habib Bank Limited has ceased to carry on banking business in Mauritius.”
Bank of Mauritius · 2024-08-31 - “granted an authorisation for Habib Bank Limited to transfer its undertaking to Banque Patronus Limitée”
Bank of Mauritius · 2024-08-29 - “The following is an official list of Members of the Mauritius Deposit Insurance Scheme”
Bank of Mauritius · 2026-05 - Banque Patronus Limitée
- “a significant milestone in strengthening Islamic finance practices in Mauritius”
Zawya (press release) · secondary
Sukuk issuedNot checked
- “Treasury bills, Treasury notes Bonds or Sovereign Sukuks”
Bank of Mauritius (hosted copy) · 2008 - “no issuance of Sukuk is ever made in Mauritius”
Sunday Times Mauritius · 2020-06-15 · secondary - Central Banking · 2014 · secondary
Takaful (non-interest insurance)Not checked
Not properly checked. The insurance regulator's site (FSC Mauritius) returned HTTP 403, and no takaful rule or takaful operator was confirmed elsewhere.
Capital market rulesNot checked
Not properly checked. The FSC Mauritius site returned HTTP 403 to direct downloads, so its rules could not be read. Search results did not show an FSC rule on Shari'ah funds or sukuk. Search results also mention a 1 Sep 2020 FSC notice suspending the Century Sharia Fund (not read).
Recent developments
- 2024-08-31Habib Bank Limited, which had held an Islamic window licence since May 2014, surrendered its banking licence and stopped banking in Mauritius. Its accounts moved to Banque Patronus Limitée, whose website names no Islamic products. source
- undatedAlHuda CIBE said it certified AL BARAKAH Multi-purpose Co-operative Society Limited, a cooperative, not a bank. Regulator and date not stated (press release). source
Still open
Points we could not confirm at source yet.
- Whether any of the 13 banks on the end-May 2026 deposit insurance list now runs an Islamic window (each is deemed licensed to do so). Only Banque Patronus and MCB were checked.
- A LinkedIn explainer claimed MCB has an Islamic window; nothing on MCB's own sites supports this.
- Whether any insurer offers takaful, and whether the Century Sharia Fund suspension was lifted (FSC site blocked).
- Whether any sovereign or Bank of Mauritius sukuk has been issued since 2020; none was found.
Where we searched
- Bank of Mauritius (bom.mu): on 14 Nov 2026 the site opened with normal certificate checks (no bypass). Read: Islamic banking guideline (2018), Century revocation communiqué (2020), Habib Bank window communiqué (2014), Habib Bank surrender and transfer notices (Aug 2024), MDIS member list (end-May 2026), Public Debt Management Act 2008 copy. The HTML list of licensees page did not show the list to a plain download
- Financial Services Commission Mauritius: direct downloads returned HTTP 403; domain-restricted web search found nothing on takaful or Shari'ah funds
- Economic Development Board (mauritiusifc.mu) Islamic banking page: opened
- Banque Patronus site and both tariff guides: opened, no Islamic, Shari'ah, murabaha or mudaraba terms
- MCB group sites: domain-restricted web search only, no Islamic content found
- Secondary: IFN country analysis (search summary), Sunday Times Mauritius (opened), Zawya (opened), Central Banking (not opened)