Fintech set to become game changer for Islamic finance

Fintech, or financial technology with its potential to disrupt traditional structures in the financial industry, is seen as an important factor to change the perception and dissemination of Islamic finance in the Muslim, as well as in the non-Muslim world. New ventures combine Shariah-compliant financing principles with new technologies, such as web-based Islamic crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending, as well as other forms of IT-based alternative financing including special variants such as Bitcoin-based, Shariah-complaint micro-lending. The latest conferences on Islamic finance as well as the upcoming Islamic Banking & Investment Asia/Middle East Congress 2016 to be held in Singapore in early April all are focusing on new financial technologies featuring “out-of-the-box, forward-looking visionaries” from beyond the traditional confines of the Islamic finance industry.