"An important body of work that contributes so effectively to the knowledge base in this growing ecosystem." ~ Abdul Hasib Basit, Co-Founder & Principal at Elipses and Chairman at Yielders. "The book is a tour de force overview of the subject area and will allow the reader to delve deeper if they should so desire."~ Sultan Choudhury OBE "Mufti Faraz is working closely with the Islamic finance and fintech industry, not just in performing the essential role of certification, but more importantly in "moving the needle"." ~ Harris Irfan, Chairman, UK Islamic Fintech Panel Introduction to Islamic Fintech is the ideal primer which not only simplifies the entire world of Fintech, it equally empowers the reader to navigate their way through this subject and advance to more technical and niche areas within Islamic Fintech. This book addresses 10 different areas including blockchain, smart contracts, crypto-assets, alternative finance, crowdfunding, investment-based technologies, neo-banking, banking-as-a-service, insurtech and Zakattech. Each area is discussed in terms of their back-end tech models, front-end operations, Shari'ah structures and Shari'ah compliance. Contents: Chapter 1: What is Islamic Fintech? Chapter 2: The Tale of Islamic Fintech Chapter 3: Blockchain Chapter 4: Smart Contracts Chapter 5: Crypto-Assets Chapter 6: Alternative Finance Chapter 7: Crowdfunding Chapter 8: Investment-based Technology Chapter 9: Neo-banking Chapter 10: Banking-as-a-Service Chapter 11: Insurtech and Takafultech Chapter 12: ZakatTech Chapter 13: The Future of Islamic Fintech About the Author Mufti Faraz Adam is considered by many a thought leader in the Fintech subject and is known for his detailed and nuanced analyses of contemporary matters. He is a UK-based Islamic Finance & Fintech advisor and heads the Shariah advisory firm Amanah Advisors. He serves as an advisor on several global Shariah boards in countries such as Bahrain, Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and the United States. He has published over a dozen research papers in contemporary Islamic Finance matters and has published many chapters in Islamic FinTech. Mufti Faraz studied his Islamic degree in the UK and completed his Islamic law (Iftaa) specialisation in South Africa. He completed a Master's degree in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management at Newman University, UK in 2017. He has attained various finance-industry qualifications such as the IFQ, CIFE and is a Certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA). He has completed an MBA diploma and specialised in Fintech at the University of Michigan, US. He holds an ACCA Accounting and Business diploma.

This timely book addresses the effects and implications of rapid technological changes within the financial services industry on Islamic finance and Islamic banks. Exploring current challenges, opportunities and threats, the authors provide an overview of how FinTech can operate within an Islamic context, under the Shari’ah principles or the Halal framework, for example. Examining the potential opportunities of Islamic FinTech from a socio-economic perspective, this edited collection will be of use to anyone researching FinTech or Islamic Finance as well as practitioners and policy-makers involved in banking and financial services.

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.

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.

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.

Financial Technology (Fintech) has revolutionized the financial world as one of the fastest-growing segments in both the technology and financial sectors. With the usage of underlying principles of Blockchain technology, Fintech is bringing the financial community together and making financial services accessible to everyone. Fintech has far-reaching implications for Islamic finance such as banking, investment, insurance (takaful) and wealth management, which are benefitting from this usage. This book provides a comprehensive review of how Fintech is shaping the Islamic finance industry through three key aspects: Digitalization, Development and Disruption. The book will provide insight on the Shariahtech (Fintech in line with Shariah principle) and its application in the Islamic finance industry. The book also gives an overview of Blockchain and Fintech evolution and how they act as the building blocks of the digital financial landscape. Readers of the book will also get a detailed discernment on the Islamic viewpoint on cryptocurrency as well as the application of the smart contract in different Islamic financial services. The book provides students, academics and researchers with a detailed description of the Blockchain and Fintech application in Islamic finance.

Islamic finance has started to grow in international finance across the globe, with some concentration in few countries. Nearly 20 percent annual growth of Islamic finance in recent years seems to point to its resilience and broad appeal, partly owing to principles that govern Islamic financial activities, including equity, participation, and ownership. In theory, Islamic finance is resilient to shocks because of its emphasis on risk sharing, limits on excessive risk taking, and strong link to real activities. Empirical evidence on the stability of Islamic banks, however, is so far mixed. While these banks face similar risks as conventional banks do, they are also exposed to idiosyncratic risks, necessitating a tailoring of current risk management practices. The macroeconomic policy implications of the rapid expansion of Islamic finance are far reaching and need careful considerations.

"This book provides understanding and lessons learned in regard to all aspects of financial technology utilization and management in individual, organizational, and societal experiences. It examines the emergence of financial technology during the last decade. Including discussion on topics such as regulatory environments, technology infrastructures, public sector initiatives, and financial technology for the social sector"--

FinTech is encouraging various new practices, such as diminishing the use of cash in different countries, increasing rate of mobile payments, and introducing new algorithms for high-frequency trading across national boundaries. It is paving the way for new technologies emerging in the information technology scene that allow financial service firms to automate existing business processes and offer new products, including crowdfunding or peer-to-peer insurance. These new products cater to hybrid client interaction and customer self-services, changing the ecosystem by increasing outsourcing for focused specialization by resizing and leading to new ecosystems and new regulations for encouraging FinTech. However, such new ecosystems are also accompanied by new challenges. Innovative Strategies for Implementing FinTech in Banking provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of technology inclusion in the financial sector and applications within global financing. It provides a clear direction for the effective implementation of FinTech initiatives/programs for improving banking financial processes, financial organizational learning, and performance excellence. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as artificial intelligence, social financing, and customer satisfaction, this book encourages the management of the financial industry to take a proactive attitude toward FinTech, resulting in a better decision-making capability that will support financial organizations in their journey towards becoming FinTech-based organizations. As such, this book is ideally designed for financial analysts, finance managers, finance administrators, banking professionals, IT consultants, researchers, academics, students, and practitio

This book, Introduction to Islamic Banking and Finance: An Economic Analysis, covers the basic principles of Islamic economics and finance. It discusses both the theory of Islamic economics and finance as well as the applications in the design of instruments of finance as well as Islamic financial institutions. The book enables its readers to gain an understanding of the structures and operations of Islamic banking, Islamic capital market investments, risk management, and taxation for Islamic banking contracts.The book sets forth the following objectives: