There is only one brokerage in Turkey built around Shariah screening from the ground up: Kuveyt Türk Yatırım, which limits its equity universe to stocks that pass the participation screen. Every other platform, including Midas, Ziraat Yatırım and İş Yatırım, can be used for halal investing, but only if you do the screening yourself and refuse the margin credit, VİOP and instant-cash features they sell alongside shares. This guide compares the four on commissions, screening help, the features a Muslim investor must switch off, and the investor protection cap of 2,065,145 TL that the Yatırımcı Tazmin Merkezi applies in 2026.
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What makes a trading platform halal, and what does not
A brokerage is a service, not an investment. Whether your trading is halal depends on three things: what you buy, how you pay for it, and what side products you accept. On the first point, the stock must pass a screen such as the one behind the BIST Katılım indices, which our BIST Katılım indices explainer covers. On the second, you must pay in full from your own cash, because buying shares with broker credit (kredili işlem) means paying interest. On the third, the platform must not push you into derivatives, warrants, short selling or interest-bearing cash sweeps. A platform earns a halal label only when it makes these three things easy.
That is why the comparison below splits into two groups. Kuveyt Türk Yatırım, the investment arm of Kuveyt Türk, does the screening for you and simply does not offer margin or VİOP, so there is nothing to switch off. Midas, Ziraat Yatırım and İş Yatırım are conventional brokers with cheap, well-built apps. They are usable for halal investing in the same way a conventional supermarket is usable for a halal diet: you can shop there, but the burden of reading labels falls on you. Our halal investing hub explains the screening rules before you open any account.
The four platforms at a glance
The fees below come from each broker's published tariff on 28 September 2026. Turkish commissions are quoted as a percentage of trade value, and the 5 percent banking and insurance transactions tax (BSMV) is added on top of every commission. Several brokers quote a maximum and then negotiate lower rates for active clients, so the printed figure is a ceiling rather than a promise.
| Platform | BIST equity commission | Shariah screening | Margin and VİOP | Other markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuveyt Türk Yatırım | Up to 0.25% plus BSMV; 0.20% through the bank's channels; no account fee | Built in: only screened stocks are tradeable | Not offered | Participation funds via the bank |
| Midas | 0% on BIST shares; no live-data or account fee | None; you screen | BIST credit at 66.5% a year on the first 250,000 TL; VİOP 0.05% to 0.01%; US options $1.50 per contract | US shares $1.50 per trade; European shares 1.5 EUR; crypto 0.15% to 0.10% |
| Ziraat Yatırım | Internet 0.15% sliding to 0.01% by volume; minimum 0.90 TL per order | None; you screen | VİOP 0.03% plus BSMV; credit available | Funds, bonds, foreign markets |
| İş Yatırım | 0.20% on BIST shares | None; you screen | Full VİOP, credit and short-selling suite | US shares 0.25% |
Two things stand out. Midas is the cheapest place to hold screened BIST shares, since the commission is zero and the account carries no fixed charges. Kuveyt Türk Yatırım is not the cheapest, but it is the only one where a mistake is structurally impossible: you cannot buy an unscreened bank stock or a futures contract because the system does not list them. Which of those two advantages matters more depends on how disciplined you are and how often you trade.
Kuveyt Türk Yatırım: the only screened-by-default broker
Kuveyt Türk Yatırım (Kuveyt Türk Yatırım Menkul Değerler) opened as a standalone brokerage so that the bank's customers could buy shares without leaving the participation system. Its equity list is limited to companies that pass the participation screen, the same screen that feeds the BIST Katılım indices, and its framework agreement is signed jointly with the bank. The published tariff caps the equity commission at 0.25 percent plus BSMV, with 0.20 percent for orders placed through the bank's own channels, and lists no account maintenance fee. There is no margin facility, no short selling and no VİOP access, so the question of switching features off never arises. Our Kuveyt Türk Yatırım review goes through the account opening steps.
The price of that safety is choice and cost. A 0.25 percent commission on a 100,000 TL trade is 250 TL plus BSMV, against zero at Midas, and the screened universe means you cannot buy a company that fails the screen even if you believe a different scholar's method would pass it. You also lose access to US and European shares, which the conventional brokers offer. For a buy-and-hold investor who trades a few times a year and wants a bank-grade institution behind the account, the commission is a small price. For an active trader, it adds up quickly. See the Kuveyt Türk Yatırım provider page for the current tariff.
Midas: zero commission, but three features to refuse
Midas (Midas Menkul Değerler) has changed the Turkish retail market by charging no commission on BIST shares and absorbing the MKK and exchange charges that other brokers pass on. Live data, account maintenance, portfolio transfers and rights issues are all listed as free, and US shares cost a flat $1.50 per trade with fractional shares available. For a Muslim investor who screens carefully, that makes it the cheapest route to a halal BIST portfolio, and our halal stock screening guide shows how to check each company before you buy.
The same tariff page lists the features that are not halal. The BIST credit facility charges 66.5 percent a year on balances up to 250,000 TL, falling to 48.5 percent above 4 million TL, and that is interest by any definition. The instant cash feature (Anında Nakit) costs 0.25 percent per day, which is a short-term loan against your unsettled sale. VİOP futures are offered at 0.05 percent of volume, US options at $1.50 per contract and warrants at 0.20 percent. None of these are forced on you, but the app presents them as ordinary tabs. Treat them as doors you never open, and keep your buying power equal to your settled cash.
- Never activate BIST credit: the 66.5 percent annual rate is interest, and a margin call can force you to sell screened shares at a loss.
- Do not use instant cash at 0.25 percent per day; wait for the T+2 settlement instead.
- Ignore the VİOP, options and warrant tabs; our options and VİOP ruling guide explains why scholars reject them.
- Screen every BIST and US company before buying, and re-screen your holdings when the quarterly financials land.
Ziraat Yatırım and İş Yatırım: bank-backed brokers for the self-screener
Ziraat Yatırım (Ziraat Yatırım Menkul Değerler) is the brokerage of state-owned Ziraat Bankası, and its internet commission starts at 0.15 percent and slides down to 0.01 percent as monthly volume rises, with a minimum of 0.90 TL per order. It is a solid choice if you already bank with Ziraat Katılım and want a familiar name. İş Yatırım (İş Yatırım Menkul Değerler) is the largest independent brokerage in the country and charges 0.20 percent on BIST shares and 0.25 percent on US shares. Both run full VİOP, credit and short-selling suites, so they belong in the same category as Midas: fine for the disciplined self-screener, and risky for anyone who clicks first and asks later.
Neither broker publishes a participation-screened stock list, and neither has a Shariah advisory board. If you want the convenience of one of these institutions, you will need to build your own watchlist from the BIST Katılım index constituents and refuse any product the relationship manager suggests that carries a rate of return rather than a share of profit. Our TKBB screening standard explainer describes the financial ratio tests behind the index, so you can check a company that is not in it.
Investor protection: what the YTM covers in 2026
All four brokers are licensed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK), and your shares sit in your own name at the Central Securities Depository (MKK), not on the broker's balance sheet. If a broker fails, the Investor Compensation Centre (Yatırımcı Tazmin Merkezi, YTM) compensates clients for cash and securities the broker cannot return, up to a cap that is indexed each year. For 2026, YTM states the cap at 2,065,145 TL per investor. The cap applies to the investment account, not to deposits, which are a separate matter under the TMSF deposit insurance scheme.
In practice the cap matters less than it sounds for a long-term halal investor. Because shares are held at MKK in your own name, a broker's failure should not touch them at all; the YTM is there for cash balances and for securities a broker misappropriated. That is a reason to keep uninvested cash small and, if you hold a larger float, to park it in a participation money market fund rather than leaving it as a broker balance, which some brokers sweep into interest-bearing instruments by default.
Costs over a year: a worked example
Suppose you invest 20,000 TL a month into screened BIST shares and rebalance twice a year, for roughly 300,000 TL of buys and sells across the year. At Midas the commission is zero. At Ziraat Yatırım's headline internet rate of 0.15 percent, the year costs 450 TL plus BSMV. At İş Yatırım's 0.20 percent it is 600 TL plus BSMV. At Kuveyt Türk Yatırım's bank-channel rate of 0.20 percent it is also 600 TL plus BSMV, rising to 750 TL at the 0.25 percent ceiling. On a 300,000 TL year, the gap between the dearest and cheapest option is a quarter of one percent, which is far smaller than the difference a single unscreened purchase or a margin call could make.
That is the honest framing for this decision. Fee differences between Turkish brokers are now small enough that they should not drive a halal investor's choice. The things that should are the screening burden you are willing to carry, whether you need US shares, and how much you trust yourself around a credit button. Our halal ETF and fund guide covers the alternative of skipping single stocks entirely.
Verdict: which platform for which investor
Choose Kuveyt Türk Yatırım if you want screening done for you, bank-grade governance and no exposure to haram features, and you are content with BIST-only equities and a commission of up to 0.25 percent. Choose Midas if you screen your own stocks, want zero BIST commission, fractional US shares at $1.50 a trade and a modern app, and you can commit to never touching credit, instant cash, VİOP or options. Ziraat Yatırım suits investors who already live inside the Ziraat group, and İş Yatırım suits those who want the deepest research desk. Whichever you pick, hold your cash float in a participation fund rather than an interest-bearing sweep, and re-screen holdings every quarter. Facts checked against getmidas.com, kuveytturkyatirim.com.tr, ziraatyatirim.com.tr, isyatirim.com.tr and ytm.gov.tr on 28 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Midas halal to use?
Midas is a conventional broker, so the platform itself is neither halal nor haram. Buying screened BIST or US shares there with your own settled cash is permissible, and the zero commission makes it the cheapest way to do so. What is not permissible is activating the BIST credit facility at 66.5 percent a year, the 0.25 percent daily instant cash feature, VİOP futures or US options. Use it as a shop, not as a lender.
Does Kuveyt Türk Yatırım offer US shares?
Its published tariff on 28 September 2026 covers BIST equities and participation funds, and the equity list is limited to stocks that pass the participation screen. We did not find a US or European equity service on the tariff. If you need foreign shares, you will have to screen them yourself at a conventional broker such as Midas or İş Yatırım, and keep that account separate from any credit or derivative products.
How much is the YTM investor protection cap in 2026?
The Yatırımcı Tazmin Merkezi publishes an annual cap on compensation for cash and securities a failed broker cannot return. For 2026 the figure on its website is 2,065,145 TL per investor. Shares registered in your own name at MKK are not normally affected by a broker's failure, so the cap matters most for uninvested cash balances, which is a reason to keep those small.
Do I pay BSMV on brokerage commissions?
Yes. Brokers quote commissions before the 5 percent banking and insurance transactions tax, which is charged on the commission rather than on the trade value. A 0.20 percent commission therefore costs 0.21 percent all in. Midas's zero commission on BIST shares means there is nothing for BSMV to attach to, which is one reason its total cost is hard to beat for a self-screening investor.
Can I trade halal stocks from a Ziraat Katılım account?
Ziraat Katılım is a participation bank and does not run its own brokerage, but customers can open an account at Ziraat Yatırım within the same group. The brokerage is conventional, so you must build a screened watchlist yourself and refuse credit and VİOP. The internet commission starts at 0.15 percent and falls with volume, with a 0.90 TL minimum per order.
Compare providers in your region
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Should I screen stocks myself or rely on the BIST Katılım index?
Relying on the index is the practical default: it applies a published screen and is reviewed by an advisory board. Screening yourself makes sense only if you want to hold a company outside the index and can read its balance sheet properly. Whichever route you take, repeat the check each quarter, because debt and interest-income ratios move with the financial statements.
