Episode 23-Islamic Fintech: Navigating the Landscape and Challenges

Majlis and Markets

Over the past decade, digitalisation and technology have transformed financial services, including payments and interactions between customers and businesses. Islamic fintech aims to do the same but in a Sharia-compliant way.

So, what makes Islamic fintech different? What challenges does it face, and what does its future look like?

In our 23rd episode we spoke to Abdul Haseeb Basit, a digital finance expert with over 25 years of experience. He is a Co-Founder and Principal of Elipses, an advisory and investment firm focused on digital disruption in the finance sector.
In this episode we covered several topics including:

• Defining what Islamic fintech is and the ecosystem's landscape
• Asking whether there is a branding/marketing issue
• Looking at some of the challenges facing Islamic fintechs

Abdul's Twitter handle-@abdulhbasit
Global Islamic fintech report 2023/24-https://salaamgateway.com/reports/global-islamic-fintech-report-2023
You can email your comments, feedback or suggestions to us: [e-mail]

Intro theme song-'Tales of the Arabian Nights' composed by StudioKolomna via Pixabay

Chapters

1. Monologue intro (00:00:57)

2. Beginning of discussion (00:01:52)

3. Abdul Haseeb's background (00:02:37)

4. Growing up in Saudi Arabia (00:06:30)

5. First hearing about Islamic finance (00:08:27)

6. What is fintech? (00:12:07)

7. What is Islamic fintech? (00:19:18)

8. Challenging the incumbents? (00:24:40)

9. Succesful Islamic fintechs (00:27:34)

10. More hype than substance? (00:29:50)

11. UK Islamic finance landscape (00:32:52)

12. Gaps in offerings (00:36:55)

13. Global ecosystem in 2024 and 2025 (00:42:19)

14. Getting big VCs into Islamic fintech (00:45:03)

15. Upcoming projects (00:47:07)

16. Social media accounts (00:48:32)