Palgrave Macmillan

The United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for the people and planet through 17 goals. The fundamentals of the teachings of

The banking and financial landscape in the last decade has been inundated with ‘technology’. Financial Technology (FinTech), Insurance Technology (InsurTech) and Regulatory Technology (RegTech) are just some of the new buzzwords. Close to 80% of Fintech investments happen in the US, while it is growing rapidly in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Fintech development is gaining ground with the support of the regional governments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Digital currencies have received a mixed response from the Islamic banking and finance (IB&F) industry. As Shariah permissibility (or ‘compliance’) strongly influences the demand for and supply of products in the IF&B industry, the verdicts reached by Shariah scholars on digital currencies have a strong bearing on their adoption amongst users.

The banking and financial landscape has been inundated with technology over the last decade, with FinTech, InsurTech and RegTech being just some of the new applications within finance. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), FinTech is yet to ­find its feet despite several digital transformation drives initiated by the regional governments in the UAE and Bahrain. In comparison to conventional ­finance, the use of FinTech within Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in GCC countries is still in its very early stages.