Fintech Mobiquity has launched a digital Islamic banking prototype for financial institutions across the globe.
The prototype offers a Sharia-compliant digital Islamic banking minimal viable product (MVP) for financial institutions.
Announced at Money 20/20 in Europe, the Sharia-compliant MVP was developed by digital experience consultancy Mobiquity in six weeks and enables Australian financial institutions to enhance their offerings and deliver personalised, ethical Islamic banking services to its customers.
Australian Muslims are a growing community of 1.2 million people actively seeking financial services that can accommodate their religious beliefs but which are currently lacking the opportunity to do so.
One in three Australian Muslims admit to keeping significant cash savings at home because of a lack of suitable finance options and to avoid earning interest — which is seen as non-Sharia.
Mobiquity APAC general manager Gustavo Quiroga (pictured) said there were opportunities to not only deliver an inclusive service to the broader community but extend the realm of innovation to delight its customers.
“Research shows that almost half of Australian Muslims who have taken out a mortgage with a traditional bank were reluctant to do so as the interest earnings run contrary to their religious beliefs,” Quiroga said.
“There’s now an opportunity to use our Islamic banking MVP to extend culturally ethical banking services that truly delight and exceed expectations of customers.”
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Quiroga said the MVP was built in only six weeks, which marked the start of unearthing Islamic banking’s potential in Asia Pacific – a region with a growing Muslim community.
“Our team is beyond excited to grow our services in this space and partner with likeminded financial institutions who see the value in investing in such ethical practices,” he said.
Mobiquity vice president, global financial services Matthew Williamson said the opportunity was ripe for the taking with an emerging generation actively seeking banking solutions that met their religious beliefs.
“The future of Islamic finance is disrupting traditional models as more people, particularly the younger generation, seek banking solutions that meet religious needs and encourage an ecosystem of fair, ethical and moral responsibility,” Williamson said.
“Mobiquity has created a global digital Islamic banking MVP that prioritises social and ethical consciousness.”
Williamson said to meet customer expectations, Islamic fintechs worldwide needed to use technology that enabled flexible banking solutions to suit their customers’ lifestyles.
“Customers increasingly want digital banking that they can trust and that is convenient to use,” he said.
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Islamic Finance Council UK board member Omar Shaikh said the Islamic finance market was continuing to grow in demand globally.
“It’s growing strongly across a number of emerging markets with younger average ages,” Shaikh said.
“These customers are moving from demanding to expecting highly efficient and effective digital banking services as the primary delivery channel.
“They are focusing on digital along with Islamic finance which presents a strong business model that leverages two of the highest growth segments within financial services.”
