The UIF savings account is a Profit-Sharing Savings Account held at University Bank of Ann Arbor, Michigan, an FDIC-insured bank with $1.24 billion in assets, and managed by UIF Corporation as your agent under AAOIFI Shariah Standard 46. It opens with $100, has no one-time or monthly fees, includes an ATM card and the MyUIF app, and credits an anticipated profit to your balance every month from UIF's own residential, commercial and vehicle financing portfolio. The anticipated rate is disclosed inside the online application and your Account Agreement rather than on UIF's public pages, and it is not guaranteed. A companion Profit-Sharing Time Deposit runs 12, 36 or 60 months from $5,000. This review covers the structure, the fine print and how it compares with Stearns Salaam, with the halal savings accounts hub for the wider market.
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What UIF is and what University Bank does
University Islamic Financial, UIF Corporation, is not a bank. Its own FAQ says so: it is a faith-based subsidiary of University Bank, operates independently from its parent, and holds your funds at the bank under an agency agreement. University Bank is a Michigan state-chartered bank founded in 1908, FDIC certificate 14587, with $1.24 billion in assets and $1.06 billion in deposits across two offices at June 30, 2026 according to FDIC BankFind. UIF itself is a licensed mortgage lender (NMLS 93460) headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, with a 20-year record of home, commercial and vehicle financing.
The deposit business is newer than the financing business and was expanded in 2026. On April 1, 2026 American Finance House LARIBA, the Whittier, California finance house founded in 1987, merged into UIF Corporation, with LARIBA's home financing servicing moving to UIF's affiliate Midwest Loan Services. UIF's merger FAQ lists halal profit-sharing savings programs through University Bank among the combined firm's products, so former LARIBA customers now have a deposit option through UIF as well. Our UIF home financing review and UIF car financing review cover the lending side.
The two accounts: profit-sharing savings and time deposits
| Feature | Profit-Sharing Savings Account | Profit-Sharing Time Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum to open | $100 | $5,000 (jumbo tier from $100,000) |
| Maximum | None | $2,000,000 |
| Terms | None; deposit and withdraw at will | 12, 36 or 60 months |
| Profit paid | Monthly, credited to balance | Quarterly, by check or reinvested |
| Fees | No one-time or monthly fees | None stated; early closure forfeits that quarter's profit |
| Access | ATM card, online banking, MyUIF app | No partial withdrawals before maturity |
| Renewal | Not applicable | Auto-renews for the same term at the prevailing anticipated rate |
| Insurance | FDIC through University Bank, $250,000 per depositor per ownership category | Same |
The savings account is the everyday product. Profit is calculated on the daily balance and credited monthly, and there is no maximum, though the anticipated rate may vary with the balance held. The time deposit is the higher-yield product: UIF says time deposits usually pay more because the depositor commits to leave the funds untouched, and the jumbo tier above $100,000 carries an increased anticipated return. At maturity the account rolls over automatically unless you instruct otherwise, at whatever anticipated rate is then in effect for that term.
How the anticipated profit is set and paid
UIF structures both accounts as an investment agency, wakalah bil istithmar, under AAOIFI Shariah Standard 46. You appoint UIF as your agent to invest your money in faith-based assets, UIF discloses an anticipated profit rate upfront in the Account Agreement, and the funds are segregated from any interest-bearing assets and deposits at University Bank. UIF says it sets the anticipated rate from almost two decades of performance history on its own financing, and that your anticipated profit is a share of UIF's anticipated profits. The main assets are residential and commercial real estate financing and vehicle financing originated and serviced by UIF, though UIF reserves the right to acquire other faith-based assets.
The agency structure has a consequence that a conventional saver should understand before funding. UIF's FAQ states that if UIF performs its due diligence properly but the assets underperform, it may pay less than the anticipated rate, and that you are at risk of earning no profit. It also states that UIF may, at its discretion, pay more than the anticipated rate if the assets outperform. The principal is a different matter: UIF states you cannot lose your deposit because it is held at an FDIC-insured bank, and its Shariah board has ruled FDIC coverage permissible because the FDIC is a third party to the depositor and the bank. Expected, not fixed, is the whole point; our comparison of US halal savings accounts explains why that is what makes the return halal.
What UIF publishes and what it does not
UIF publishes more Shariah documentation than most US providers: a separate fatwa for the Savings Account and for the Time Deposit Account, downloadable from its Deposit Fatwa page, a 2024 Independent Sharia Supervisory Auditors Report, and the names and biographies of its board. It publishes the minimums, terms, maximum, funding limits and early withdrawal rules quoted here. What it does not publish on the static pages is the number most savers want first: the current anticipated profit rate for each account and tier. That figure loads inside the self-serve application on the Personal Banking page and is written into the Account Agreement and Disclosures, so you will see it before you fund, but not before you start the form.
UIF also does not publish a history of what it has paid against what it anticipated. For an agency account where the return can be above or below the stated figure, that history is the single most useful disclosure, and the right question to ask a Relationship Manager is how often, since launch, the paid profit has fallen short of the anticipated rate. We asked no one for this review and are reporting only what the site says.
Shariah oversight: the board and AAOIFI membership
UIF's Sharia Supervisory Board, as named on its Deposit Fatwa page, consists of Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi, Dr. Abdulbari Mashal and Mufti Abdullah Ebrahim Nana, with the late Professor Hussein Hamed Hassan listed as former chairman. UIF describes itself as a fully accredited member of AAOIFI and notes that scholars on its board are active AAOIFI members; Dr. Mashal has sat on the AAOIFI Governance and Ethics Board since 2015. The board approves the account agreements and, UIF says, regularly audits its business dealings, with the 2024 audit findings published. For a deposit product, a published fatwa per account plus a published audit report is as strong as US halal banking disclosure currently gets.
Opening an account from any state
- Go to the Personal Banking page under Deposit Accounts on myuif.com and choose the Savings Account or Time Deposit self-serve application; UIF says the accounts are available to consumers nationwide.
- Read the anticipated profit rate shown in the application and compare it with the Stearns Salaam tier for your balance before continuing.
- Fund the opening deposit: debit card up to $2,500, ACH from an external bank up to $25,000, or a wire transfer for larger amounts.
- Alternatively submit the contact form and a Relationship Manager will call, or contact University Bank directly to open the account.
- Download the MyUIF app (Apple and Google stores) for balances, transfers, e-statements and alerts, and request the ATM card for the savings account.
- For a time deposit, choose at opening whether quarterly profit is mailed by check or added to the balance; this cannot be changed casually later.
Early withdrawal, renewal and the fine print
The time deposit's early withdrawal rule is unusual and worth reading twice. No withdrawals are permitted in the first seven days after opening and funding. No partial withdrawals are permitted before maturity at all. If you close the account before the end of a calendar quarter, the amount you receive is discounted by all profit accrued during that quarter, so you lose that quarter's profit but keep every earlier quarter's. There is no penalty that reaches into principal, which is a meaningful difference from conventional CDs that can charge months of interest and dip into the deposit if little has accrued.
Renewal is automatic for the same term at the anticipated rate then in effect, and UIF's footer disclosure repeats that an early withdrawal provision may be imposed and that offers and terms can change without notice. Put the maturity date in your calendar; a 60 month deposit that rolls at a lower rate because you missed the window is the most common complaint with any time deposit, halal or not.
UIF versus Stearns Salaam versus Devon Bank
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Stearns Bank is the direct competitor. Its Salaam Personal Market Savings has no minimum and a published rate sheet: 0.85% expected profit below $100,000, 1.97% APY from $100,000 and 2.99% APY from $500,000 as of October 1, 2026, with Salaam CDs at 3.85% to 3.94% APY from $500. Stearns is itself the bank, a $3.27 billion national bank, so there is no agency layer. Devon Bank in Chicago is a real Islamic financing bank but its savings accounts pay interest, including an online Legato Saver at 2.70% APY as of September 18, 2026, so it is not a halal deposit option at all.
| Feature | UIF Profit-Sharing Savings | Stearns Salaam Market Savings | Devon Bank Passport or Legato Saver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riba-free | Yes, AAOIFI 46 agency, segregated | Yes, segregated from interest-bearing deposits | No, interest-bearing |
| Minimum | $100 | $0 | $100 Passport; Legato online, no minimum |
| Monthly fee | None | None stated; fees could reduce earnings | None stated |
| Published rate | In application and agreement only | 0.85% to 2.99% APY by tier | Legato 2.70% APY; Passport call for rates |
| Profit frequency | Monthly | Per Truth in Savings disclosure | Interest |
| Shariah board | Yaqubi, Mashal, Nana; fatwa and 2024 audit published | Essa, Abdul-Basser, Baig; June 2024 certificate | Financing fatwa only, from Shariah Supervisory Board of America |
| Insurance | FDIC via University Bank ($1.24bn assets) | FDIC via Stearns Bank N.A. ($3.27bn assets) | FDIC via Devon Bank ($419m assets) |
| Time deposits | 12, 36, 60 months from $5,000 | 3, 6, 12, 18 month CDs from $500 | 30 days to 2 years, interest |
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On paper the decision turns on one unknown: UIF's anticipated rate for your balance. If it is above Stearns' 0.85% entry tier, UIF wins for balances under $100,000 on both yield and the $100 minimum with ATM access; if it is near or below, Stearns' published numbers and larger balance sheet win. Above $100,000 Stearns' tiers rise sharply and the comparison must be redone. Our Stearns Salaam Banking review has the full Stearns picture.
Who should choose the UIF savings account
- Existing UIF home or vehicle financing customers who want one halal relationship and one app, since the deposits fund the very contracts they hold.
- Savers who weigh Shariah governance heavily and want a published fatwa per account, an AAOIFI-member board and a published audit report.
- People with $5,000 to $2,000,000 to lock away for one to five years who want quarterly profit paid out as income by check.
- Former LARIBA customers who now sit inside UIF after the April 2026 merger and want a deposit account from the same institution.
- Anyone whose balance sits below $100,000 and who finds, in the application, an anticipated rate above Stearns' 0.85% tier.
Verdict: open it, but read the rate first
A UIF mortgage or car customer should open the Profit-Sharing Savings Account: $100 to start, no fees, monthly profit, the same login, and FDIC protection through University Bank. A saver who is not a UIF customer should start the online application, read the anticipated rate, and only fund if it beats what Stearns publishes for the same balance, because Stearns offers published tiers and a $3.27 billion balance sheet with no agency layer. A retiree who wants quarterly income should consider the 36 or 60 month time deposit, accept that partial withdrawals are impossible, and keep a liquid reserve elsewhere. Nobody should fund a UIF deposit expecting a fixed return; the contract says plainly that you could earn less or nothing in a poor year, and that variability is the price of a return that is not interest. For checking accounts to pair with it, see the bank accounts hub.
Facts checked against myuif.com, fdic.gov, stearnsbank.com, devonbank.com on October 6, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is the UIF savings account FDIC insured?
Yes. Your deposit is held at University Bank, an FDIC-insured Michigan bank with $1.24 billion in assets, and is insured to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. UIF's Shariah board has ruled that accepting FDIC coverage is permissible because the FDIC is a third party to the depositor and the bank. The insurance covers principal; the anticipated profit is not guaranteed.
What is the minimum deposit for a UIF savings account?
The Profit-Sharing Savings Account opens with $100 and has no maximum and no monthly or one-time fees. The Profit-Sharing Time Deposit requires $5,000 for 12, 36 or 60 month terms, with a jumbo tier from $100,000 and a cap of $2,000,000 per account. Initial funding can be by debit card up to $2,500, ACH up to $25,000, or wire.
What profit rate does UIF pay on savings?
UIF does not print the anticipated profit rate on its public pages. The rate appears inside the online application and in your Account Agreement and Disclosures before you fund. It is derived from UIF's residential, commercial and vehicle financing portfolio and may be paid above, below or not at all depending on how those assets perform, so compare it with Stearns Salaam's published tiers before committing.
Can I withdraw early from a UIF time deposit?
Only by closing the account, and not within the first seven days. Partial withdrawals before maturity are not permitted. If you close before the end of a calendar quarter, you forfeit the profit accrued in that quarter but keep all profit paid in earlier quarters and your full principal. The deposit renews automatically for the same term unless you give instructions.
Is UIF's savings account halal?
Yes, according to the fatwa published by UIF's Sharia Supervisory Board, which includes Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi, Dr. Abdulbari Mashal and Mufti Abdullah Nana. The account is an investment agency under AAOIFI Standard 46, funds are segregated from interest-bearing assets, profit comes from Shariah-compliant financing, and the return is variable rather than fixed. A 2024 independent Shariah audit report is also published.
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Can I open a UIF savings account from outside Michigan?
Yes. UIF states that its profit-sharing accounts are available to consumers nationwide through an online self-serve application, with the MyUIF app and an ATM card for the savings account. You can also ask a Relationship Manager to call you or contact University Bank directly. No branch visit is required according to the site.
