--- title: "Alternative Student Finance: Student Bank Account" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2026-04-14" --- # Alternative Student Finance: Student Bank Account Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad.json) ## Summary The Department for Education, located in London, is initiating a procurement process titled "Alternative Student Finance: Student Bank Account". This process is currently in the planning stage with a focus on early market engagement, incorporating Islamic finance principles to assist students in accessing higher education. The procurement relates to the financial transaction processing sector and involves establishing compliant bank accounts that do not bear or generate interest. Key dates include an early market engagement webinar scheduled for 30 April 2026, with individual meetings to follow, and the milestone process due by 29 May 2026. Potential suppliers are encouraged to register for these events to participate in the engagement exercise. This tender provides significant opportunities for businesses specialising in Islamic finance and banking services that can demonstrate the ability to manage money compliant with Islamic principles, facilitate transfers, and adhere to FCA/MPM regulations. Companies with innovative solutions that enhance public services and offer value for money should consider engaging in this process. Given its specific requirements, the tender is particularly well-suited for financial service providers with expertise in alternative banking solutions and those seeking to expand their presence in the educational finance sector. The initiative represents a chance to contribute to a meaningful societal impact by facilitating inclusive access to education funding. ## Notice The Department for Education (DfE) is establishing an alternative student finance (ASF) product, compatible with Islamic finance principles, to enable all students, regardless of their faith, to access Higher Education (HE). Whilst the current student finance system provides interest-bearing loans for students entering HE study, some students, particularly those who identify as Muslim, do not feel able to access these loans due to their faith. ASF will address this barrier by providing a faith-sensitive equivalent to the current loan product. Students accessing ASF will not suffer any detriment nor experience any advantage through choosing to access student support via this route. The ASF system will be based on a 'Takaful' model, to provide a form of group-based mutual support. Recipients will receive financial support for HE and, in return, will commit to making contributions back to the scheme in the future which will be used to help other students go to university. ASF recipients will make the same total contributions as those who opt for the conventional student loan product. Like the conventional student loan scheme, these contributions will be based on what people earn and will therefore be of the same amount and made at the same time as repayments for conventional student loans. Legislation has been put in place, through the Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017, to enable ASF to be introduced. At present, we are working closely with a group of specialist advisors to develop a robust ASF model. Alongside this, the Government is also reforming the wider student finance system. The introduction of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) will significantly change how students access learning and financial support. We intend to introduce ASF as soon as possible after the LLE, so that both reforms work cohesively to expand opportunity and support for all learners. To ensure that ASF funds are managed in accordance with Islamic finance principles, the DfE is exploring the banking arrangements required. This will include establishing a bank account that can hold and move funds in a compliant manner, including that the account must not bear or generate interest. This engagement activity is focused on generating insights from the market, including market interest in fulfilling this service, feasibility of account options, the anticipated availability of compliant accounts meeting DfE's requirements, expected costs for the required account and estimated timeframes to establish and operationalise the account. We are keen to identify whether there are innovative solutions that may help deliver better public services and value for money. We anticipate that there will be a contract for this service. The supplier must be able to: * provide evidence of how it handles and holds money in an Islamic finance compliant manner * facilitate the transfer of funds * be fully regulated with FCA/MPM compliance. We expect that a full specification of requirements will be provided after this exercise, in line with an invitation to tender if/when issued. ### Planning Information We welcome participation in this early market engagement exercise from suppliers who think they may be able to fulfil the criteria for the bank account to engage with this activity. Early Market Engagement Exercise Early market engagement process description We anticipate that there will be a limited number of service providers who can be contracted due to the specific nature of the services required. Early market engagement will involve: • An initial webinar where DfE Officials will present ASF and the anticipated service requirements with a Q&A to follow. • 1-1 meetings with banking service providers who meet the procurement description above. This will involve DfE and the bank discussing, confidentially, the scope of the service provided and any limitations and considerations. o We will provide a list of questions prior to meeting if there is information that may be helpful for us to refine our requirements. o Providers will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prior to these meetings to ensure confidentiality. • DfE will retain comprehensive notes from the early market engagement sessions which may inform subsequent procurement activities. The expected timescale for early market engagement is as follows: Early Market Engagement Webinar 30 April 2026 at 2pm. This event is expected to last 45 minutes. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. To register for this event please email: ceini.bowen@education.gov.uk. for the dial in details. o Once the initial webinar has been held, we will contact providers in attendance to secure 1-1 meeting dates. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033617-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 14 Apr 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 14 Jan 2027 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 30 Aug 2027 - 31 Aug 2034 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1P 3BT | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 66 - Financial and insurance services ### Codes - 66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services ## Release History - 14 Apr 2026 at 09:43 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033617-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033617-2026 14th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0681ad.json.