Beyond Fintech: Technology Applications for the Islamic Economy is a follow-up to the first-ever Islamic Fintech book by the author (published in 2018) that provided linkages between Islamic Finance and disruptive technologies like the blockchain. In the wake of fintech as a new trend in financial markets, the ground-breaking book stressed the relevance of Islamic finance and its implications, when enabled by fintech, towards the development of the Islamic digital economy. While the earlier work discussed the crucial innovation, structural, and institutional development for financial technologies in Islamic Finance, this new research explores the multiple applications possible in the various sectors of the economy, within and beyond finance, that can be significantly transformed. These revolutionary applications involve the integration of AI, blockchain, data analytics, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for a holistic solution to tackle the bottlenecks and other issues in existing processes of traditional systems. The principles of accountability, duty, justice, and transparency are the foundation of shaping the framework in achieving good governance in all institutions — public or private, Islamic or otherwise. Technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT devices can operationalize the transparency and accountability that is required to eradicate poverty, distribute wealth, enhance micro-, small- and large-scale initiatives for social and economic development, and thus share prosperity for a moral system that enables a more secure and sustainable economy.

The ongoing digital transformation is shaping the Islamic mode of financial intermediation and the impact on the faith-based financial mode has been multifaceted. This has raised a host of interesting questions: what is the degree of penetration of Islamic finance in the fintech industry? Are Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) or banks ready to embrace fintech? Is fintech an enabler or barrier to achieve the intended purpose of Islamic finance? Will technology narrow the division between Islamic and conventional finance in the future? These are existential questions for Islamic finance and the book endeavors to examine the impact of financial technology on the industry. The book assesses various fintech business models and how they could be a threat or an opportunity. It also examines whether fintech provides IFIs an edge to serve clients following the Shariah norms and how the adoption of fintech in the Islamic mode is required for meeting the maqasid Al Shariah. The book discusses applicability of fintech like blockchain, digital currency, big data, and AI to different branches of Islamic finance. This book will interest students, analysts, policymakers, and regulators who are working on Islamic finance, financial economics, Islamic economics, and development finance.

As the world pivots towards a future defined by technological advancement, the pursuit of sustainable development faces intricate challenges that intertwine governance, management, and finance. The rapid growth of Industry and Society 5.0 necessitate innovative governance frameworks that can balance economic growth with environmental responsibility and social equity. Effective management strategies are crucial to integrating sustainable practices within both industry and society, ensuring that progress does not come at the expense of future generations. Sustainable Development in Industry and Society 5.0: Governance, Management, and Financial Implications offers an exploration of the multifaceted challenges and strategies for achieving sustainability in the era of advanced technological and societal transformation. This book delves into innovative governance frameworks that balance economic growth with environmental and social priorities. Covering topics such as financial literacy, policy and law, and sustainable investment, this book is a valuable resource for policymakers, academicians, researchers, government officials, business leaders, managers, financial analysts, technologists and innovators, post-graduate students, and educators.

In the face of an evolving global landscape characterized by climate change and a pressing need for sustainable development, the finance sector remains at a critical juncture. Traditional financial models struggle to address the challenges posed by the transition to a low-carbon economy, and unlocking private investments for sustainable initiatives remains an uphill battle. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into financial systems presents both promise and peril, with the potential to reshape the industry while posing unprecedented challenges. Issues of Sustainability in AI and New-Age Thematic Investing is a beacon of insight and solutions in the realm of green finance and AI/ML integration. Geared toward academic scholars, policymakers, and industry experts, this book serves as a comprehensive guide to navigating the intricacies of sustainable development and energy transition. By highlighting the pivotal role of AI/ML in green finance, the publication bridges the gap between theoretical understanding and practical implementation, offering actionable solutions for unlocking private investments.

Following the success of the first edition that brought attention to the digital revolution in Islamic financial services, comes this revised and updated second edition of Blockchain, Fintech and Islamic Finance. The authors reiterate the potential of digital disruption to shrink the role and relevance of today’s banks, while simultaneously creating better, faster, cheaper services that will be an essential part of everyday life. Digital transformation will also offer the ability to create new ways to better comply to Islamic values in order to rebuild trust and confidence in the current financial system. In this new edition, they explore current concepts of decentralized finance (DeFi), distributed intelligence, stablecoins, and the integration of AI, blockchain, data analytics and IoT devices for a holistic solution to ensure technology adoption in a prudent and sustainable manner. The book discusses crucial innovation, structural and institutional developments for financial technologies including two fast-growing trends that merge and complement each other: tokenization, where all illiquid assets in the world, from private equity to real estate and luxury goods, become liquid and can be traded more efficiently, and second, the rise of a new tokenized economy where inevitably new rules and ways to enforce them will develop to fully unleash their capabilities. These complementary and oft-correlated trends will complete the decentralization of finance and will influence the way future financial services will be implemented. This book provides insights into the shift in processes, as well as the challenges that need to be overcome for practical applications for AI and blockchain and how to approach such innovations. It also covers new technological risks that are the consequence of utilizing frontier technologies such as AI, blockchain and IoT. Industry leaders, Islamic finance professionals, along with students and academics in the fields of Islamic finance and economics will benefit immensely from this book.

This book provides a systematic overview of the current trends in research relating to the use of artificial intelligence in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs), across all organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC) countries. Artificial Intelligence and Islamic Finance discusses current and potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for risk management in Islamic finance. It covers various techniques of risk management, encompassing asset and liability management risk, credit, market, operational, liquidity risk, as well as regulatory and Shariah risk compliance within the financial industry. The authors highlight AI’s ability to combat financial crime such as monitoring trader recklessness, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering, and assert that the capacity of machine learning (ML) to examine large amounts of data allows for greater granular and profound analyses across a variety of Islamic financial products and services. The book concludes with practical limitations around data management policies, transparency, and lack of necessary skill sets within financial institutions. By adopting new methodological approaches steeped in an Islamic economic framework (e.g., analysing FinTech in the context of Shariah principles and Islamic values), it devises practical solutions and generates insightful knowledge, helping readers to understand and explore the role of technological enablers in the Islamic finance industry, such as RegTech and artificial intelligence, in providing better and Shariah-compliant services to customers through digital platforms. The book will attract a wide readership spanning Shariah scholars, academicians, and researchers as well as Islamic financial practitioners and policy makers.

The implementation of new technologies is expected to boost the development of Islamic Finance by increasing accessibility to banking and other financial services in Islamic communities and democratizing access to investment opportunities. At the same time, new technologies will increase financing opportunities and facilitate asset management for Sharia-compliant businesses. This collection of essays from selected experts in the field comprise some of the most topical issues on Islamic Fintech, combining a business focus with legal insights. The book takes as a point of departure the role that Islamic Fintech can play in promoting sustainability. The social vision of welfare improvement and justice is already embedded in Sharia’s economic rules, which makes Islamic Finance particularly well suited to bridge the gap between sustainability and funding. Although it is not without challenges for the industry, technology will help unleash its potential. With a holistic approach to Islamic Fintech, the contributing authors address the application of new technologies to Islamic Finance, including robo-advisory, crowdfunding and digital ledger technology (both in the issuance of bitcoin and the registration of securities in tokenized form) and in certain sectors such as takaful (takaful-tech) and health (e-health). Finally, they explore the challenges posed by anti-money laundering (‘AML’) in the specific realm of Islamic Fintech. The book combines theoretical analysis with a practical focus, both through case studies and directly through the experiences of leading entrepreneurs. In addition, it provides insights on legal and regulatory aspects, which are key in a field that is still in its infancy and needs support from lawmakers and regulators. It is, thus, a reference for academics, legal practitioners, policymakers, entrepreneurs and the Islamic Finance community.

This book is for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of Blockchain technology and its potential. The book is research-oriented and covers different verticals of Blockchain technology. It discusses the characteristics and features of Blockchain, includes techniques, challenges, and future trends, along with case studies for deeper understanding. Blockchain Technology: Exploring Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications covers the core concepts related to Blockchain technology starting from scratch. The algorithms, concepts, and application areas are discussed according to current market trends and industry needs. It presents different application areas of industry and academia and discusses the characteristics and features of this technology. It also explores the challenges and future trends and provides an understanding of new opportunities. This book is for anyone at the beginner to intermediate level that wants to learn about the core concepts related to Blockchain technology.

Featuring high-level analysis of Islamic law, this book examines fintech in Islamic finance from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Whilst building on existing approaches, it also discusses the current application of fintech in promoting financial inclusion through innovative solutions in Muslim-majority countries, identifying future directions for policy-makers. With original chapters written by prominent academics, senior lawyers and practitioners in the global Islamic finance industry, this book serves as the first standalone pioneering reference work on fintech in Islamic finance. It also, for the first time, examines the position of Islamic law on cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. Besides the conceptual analysis of the Sharīʿah and legal aspects of fintech in Islamic finance, this book provides relevant case studies showing current and potential developments in the application of fintech in various sectors ranging from crowdfunding and smart contracts, to Online Dispute Resolution, Investment Account Platform and identity verification in the KYC process. Setting the agenda for researchers in the field, Fintech in Islamic Finance will be useful to students and scholars of Islamic finance and financial technology.