FNB Islamic Term Deposit Review (2026): Rates, Terms, Minimums and Fine Print

FNB's Islamic term deposit, which FNB's own site calls the Islamic Fixed Deposit, takes a minimum of R10,000 for any term from 30 days to 60 months, charges no monthly fee and pays profit monthly into your account. On 6 October 2026 the published indicative profit rates ran from 6.15% nominal (6.33% effective) for one month to 7.75% nominal (8.03% effective) for 60 months on balances between R10,000 and R249,999, and up to 8.05% nominal (8.35% effective) for 60 months at R1 million and above. The FirstRand Shari'ah Advisory Committee certified FNB Islamic Term Deposits on 25 June 2026. What FNB does not publish on the product page is the contract type, the profit-sharing ratio and the early withdrawal rule.

What FNB publishes about the product, and which name to search for

The naming matters because it sends people to the wrong page. FNB's Shariah certificate lists the product as FNB Islamic Term Deposits, and that is the phrase most people type, but the live product page sits at islamic-fixed-deposit under FNB Islamic Banking and is headed Islamic Fixed Deposit. They are the same product. The page describes an investment account with a fixed term, typically giving a higher profit rate than overnight investments, with a headline of 8.05% maximum nominal profit over 60 months on a R10,000 minimum opening deposit.

The published features are short. There are no monthly fees. You choose a term between 30 days and 60 months. Profit share is paid monthly into your account, and you can access that profit during the term. Additional money may be added at maturity, not during the term. At maturity you can reinvest or redirect the profit to another account. The deposit adds to your eBucks reward level points. The qualifying criterion is a minimum opening balance of R10,000, and the documents are a South African ID book or card and proof of residence not older than three months. For how the account fits alongside FNB's Islamic cheque and savings accounts, see our FNB Islamic Banking profile and the Islamic bank accounts hub.

The indicative profit rates published on 6 October 2026

FNB publishes a dated rate table (the one we read was stamped 2026-10-07 15:35) in four balance bands, each with nine terms. It quotes two figures per term. The nominal rate per annum (NACM) is the indicative annualised profit rate that accrues daily and is capitalised monthly, which is the figure to use if you take the profit out each month. The annual effective rate assumes the monthly profit is left in to compound for a year. The table below shows the smallest and largest bands; the nine-month term, omitted for space, paid 6.80% nominal (7.02% effective) in the smallest band and 7.10% (7.34%) in the largest.

The two middle bands sit between those columns: R250,000 to R499,999 paid 7.15% nominal at 12 months and 7.85% at 60 months, and R500,000 to R999,999 paid 7.25% and 7.95%. The R5 million and above band carried the same rates as R1 million to R4,999,999. The spread between the smallest and largest band is 0.30 percentage points at every term except one month, where it is 0.35, so the size premium is real but modest, and the term premium is larger: moving from 12 to 60 months adds 0.70 percentage points in every band.

Indicative, not guaranteed: what FNB does and does not disclose

Every rate on the page carries the word indicative, and FNB's own footnote defines the nominal rate as the indicative annualised profit rate you will earn. That is the correct language for a Shariah deposit, because a bank cannot guarantee a return on a profit-sharing contract. What the page does not say is which contract it is. Standard Bank states that its Shari'ah Fixed Deposit runs on Mudarabah with gains split 50/50 and publishes a weightages table; Al Baraka explains that depositors share in profit earned from Murabaha, Musharaka and Ijarah financing and that the actual profit varies month to month. FNB's product page names neither a contract nor a sharing ratio, and our search of the page found no reference to Mudarabah, Wakalah or Murabaha.

That silence does not make the product non-compliant; the FirstRand Shari'ah Advisory Committee (chaired by Dr Aznan Hasan, with Mufti Zaid Haspatel and Mufti Yusuf Suliman, according to the certificate) has signed it off. It does mean you should ask two questions before you deposit: what contract governs the account, and under what circumstances could the realised profit differ from the indicative rate. Our explainer on realised versus indicative profit rates sets out what each answer implies, and our guide to Mudarabah deposit splits explains why the sharing ratio is the number that actually determines your return.

Early withdrawal, maturity instructions and how profit is paid

Profit is paid monthly into your account, which is the product's most useful feature for anyone wanting income rather than growth: the capital stays locked, the profit does not. There is no option on the page to roll profit into the deposit or to take it only at maturity, so if you want compounding you have to reinvest the monthly payment yourself, and the effective rate in the table assumes you do. Additional deposits are accepted only at maturity, so a saver adding money each month should run a separate Islamic savings account alongside and move the balance across when the term ends.

The early withdrawal rule is not published. Absa, by contrast, states on its Islamic Term Deposit page that a constructive liquidation fee applies to all early redemptions. Standard Bank states that access to funds is at maturity. Treat the FNB money as unavailable until maturity and size the term accordingly; a 12-month deposit you might need in month seven is a 6-month deposit. Before you sign, get written answers to these questions and keep them with your agreement:

• Which Shariah contract governs the account (Mudarabah, Wakalah, Murabaha or another), since the product page does not say.
• Whether the deposit can be broken before maturity at all, and through which channel.
• What portion of profit already paid out is clawed back or forfeited if you break early.
• Whether any fee or deduction applies to the capital on early redemption.
• Whether this deposit is a CODI qualifying product and you a qualifying depositor, which the bank is obliged to tell you.
• What the realised profit rate on the product was for the last few months, so you can compare it with the indicative table.

How to open it and the FICA documents you need

The page offers an online Apply now route, a contact centre route and a branch route, and lists two documents: a South African ID book or ID card and proof of residence not older than three months. The opening deposit is R10,000. FNB does not state on the page whether you must already hold an FNB transactional account; given that profit is paid monthly into your account, expect to need one, and read our FNB Islamic Banking review for the Islamic cheque account tiers if you do not. Existing FNB customers can expect to open the deposit inside the app, but the page does not describe that flow and we did not test it.

Is the FNB Islamic term deposit protected by CODI?

FirstRand Bank Limited, of which FNB is a division, appears on the South African Reserve Bank's list of CODI member banks, and all registered banks are members automatically. CODI covers qualifying depositors up to R100,000 per depositor per bank, including principal and accrued interest or profit, if the Reserve Bank places the bank in resolution and liquidates it. The CODI FAQ limits cover to products where the nominal balance is guaranteed and repayable at par, and names term and notice accounts and Islamic Wadi'ah, Qard and Murabaha products as qualifying.

That is why the undisclosed contract type matters twice. A Murabaha-based deposit, where the bank owes you a fixed sale price, is on CODI's list; a pure profit-and-loss-sharing Mudarabah deposit, where the capital is not guaranteed, may not meet the repayable at par test. CODI's FAQ says banks are obliged to tell depositors whether they are qualifying depositors and whether their deposits are protected, so ask FNB that exact question and keep the written answer. Our guide to CODI deposit insurance for Islamic accounts explains the rules in detail.

FNB vs Absa vs Standard Bank vs Al Baraka on the published numbers

Compared like for like, FNB wins on monthly payout: at 12 months its 7.05% nominal in the smallest band beats Absa's 6.85% monthly rate in Absa's R1,000 to R100,000 band, and at 60 months 7.75% beats Absa's 7.05%. Absa's higher 60-month figure of 8.44% (8.59% with its digital bonus) is a maturity-payout rate that assumes all profit is held to the end, and FNB has no equivalent product option, so the fair comparison is FNB's 8.03% effective against Absa's 8.44% only if you faithfully reinvest every monthly FNB payment at the same rate. Standard Bank's up to 9.75% is a headline for the longest term and largest balance band; its weightage table is the only way to derive a rate for your own deposit, which our Standard Bank Shariah Fixed Deposit review walks through. Al Baraka publishes no indicative rate at all, so it is a phone call. For the broader market picture use our Islamic fixed deposit comparison and the compare tool.

Verdict: who should open it and who should walk across the road

Open it if you already bank with FNB Islamic, have R10,000 or more that you will not touch for the chosen term, want profit paid monthly rather than at maturity, and want a product that sits under a current Shariah certificate. Its published monthly-payout rates on 6 October 2026 were higher than Absa's, the only other bank printing a per-term Islamic rate table, and the 60-month band is the one to take if you can commit, since every band adds 0.70 percentage points between 12 and 60 months. Ask for the contract type, the early withdrawal rule and the CODI status in writing first.

Walk across the road if you have less than R10,000 (Absa and Standard Bank open at R1,000), if you want all profit paid at maturity (Absa's maturity rate is the higher figure), if you want to see the contract and the sharing ratio before you sign (Standard Bank publishes both), or if you want a deposit at a fully Islamic bank rather than a window (Al Baraka, at the cost of no published rate). Facts checked against fnb.co.za, absa.co.za, standardbank.co.za, albaraka.co.za, resbank.co.za on 6 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum for the FNB Islamic term deposit?

R10,000. FNB's Islamic Fixed Deposit page lists a minimum opening balance of R10,000 as the qualifying criterion, which is ten times the R1,000 minimum at Absa's Islamic Term Deposit and Standard Bank's Shari'ah Fixed Deposit. Additional money can only be added at maturity, so savers building towards the minimum should use an Islamic savings account first and move the lump sum across.

What are the FNB Islamic fixed deposit rates right now?

On 6 October 2026 FNB published indicative nominal rates from 6.15% (1 month) to 7.75% (60 months) for deposits of R10,000 to R249,999, with effective rates of 6.33% to 8.03%. Balances of R1 million and above earned 6.50% to 8.05% nominal (6.70% to 8.35% effective). Rates are indicative, dated on the page and change, so read the published date before relying on them.

Is the FNB Islamic term deposit Shariah certified?

Yes. The FirstRand Shari'ah Advisory Committee's certificate of Shari'ah compliance dated 25 June 2026 lists FNB Islamic Term Deposits among fifteen certified products and is signed by Dr Aznan Hasan as chairman with Mufti Zaid Haspatel and Mufti Yusuf Suliman. The product page itself does not name the underlying contract, so ask FNB which structure the certificate covers for this account.

Can I withdraw from the FNB Islamic term deposit early?

FNB does not publish an early withdrawal rule on the product page, so treat the capital as locked until maturity and confirm the policy in writing before depositing. Profit, by contrast, is paid monthly into your account and can be used during the term. Absa states that a constructive liquidation fee applies to early redemptions on its equivalent product, which is the kind of answer to expect.

Is profit paid monthly or at maturity?

Monthly. FNB pays the profit share into your account every month and lets you access it during the term, reinvest it or redirect it to another account at maturity. There is no published option to defer all profit to maturity, so the effective rates in FNB's table assume you reinvest each monthly payment yourself. Absa offers a choice of monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, annual or maturity payout; Standard Bank offers monthly through to maturity.

Is the FNB Islamic term deposit covered by CODI?

FirstRand Bank Limited is a CODI member bank, and CODI protects qualifying depositors up to R100,000 per depositor per bank in products whose balance is guaranteed and repayable at par, including term accounts and Islamic Wadi'ah, Qard and Murabaha products. Whether this specific deposit qualifies depends on its contract, which FNB does not publish; CODI says banks must tell you, so ask FNB directly.