In partnership with Plug and Play, Emirates Islamic has launched a global campaign seeking applications from leading Islamic FinTechs and start-ups offering unique Shariah-compliant solutions, to improve products and services, and the overall customer experience.
As a digital leader in the Islamic banking sector, Emirates Islamic consistently makes strategic investments in technological solutions that enhance our front-end and back-end banking operations, in line with our ongoing digital transformation journey and has identified three areas of opportunity across Business and Priority Banking:
SME Finance
Trade Finance
Financial Wellbeing
To address the growing needs of our customers, the campaign is focused on 3 areas of improvement:
SME Finance: How might we address current challenges faced by SMEs in obtaining finance solutions? Our goal is to streamline the process for small businesses, providing them fast and affordable solutions and real-time finance in one place, while optimizing back-office operational efficiencies.
Trade Finance: How should we transform Islamic trade finance transactions for our customers? We want to improve the customer journey by digitizing the trade finance process, reducing turnaround time, saving operating costs, and making international trade financing easy, efficient and more secure.
Financial Wellbeing: How can we meet and exceed customer expectations for more personalized solutions and guidance from their banking partners? We recognize this need and aim to provide our customers with personalized insights and portfolio management, helping them to manage their finances in the most efficient and meaningful way.
Our goal is simple. We are looking for the best Fintechs that are real game-changers and will help transform the way we operate, helping us deliver true value and convenience to our customers. Together, we will create the future of Islamic banking!
The below timelines outline the full application process and key dates, from the launch to Fintech selection. Multiple shortlisting rounds will be held with applicants to evaluate their offering and alignment with the campaign themes, which will then culminate in a demo day and solution deep-dive with business leaders.
Successful Fintechs will be subsequently contacted.
Applications open
February 1st
Submissions close
February 24th
Fintechs evaluation
February 24th - March 17th
Fintechs shortlist
March 24th
Demo day
April 8th
Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE. Established in 2004 as Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE.
Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of Shari’a-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 42 branches and 209 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast-growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank is an innovator, being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app and offer Apple Pay, as well as being the first Islamic bank in the world to launch Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp.
Emirates Islamic has consistently received local and international awards, in recognition of its strong record of performance and innovation in banking. Emirates Islamic won recognition in 2022 for its financial performance, innovative products and customer experience. The bank won three awards at the World Finance Islamic Finance Awards - namely “Best Islamic Bank in UAE”; “Best Islamic Bank in Customer Experience, UAE” and “Best Credit Card in UAE” for its Etihad Guest Credit Cards - a range of exclusive, co-branded credit cards with Etihad Airways. The bank was also named ‘Best Islamic Bank for SMEs’ at the MEA Finance Awards, recognised for its innovative proposition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and its status as a preferred bank for entrepreneurs seeking Shari’a -compliant products and services for their businesses. Emirates Islamic was named the UAE’s most valuable Islamic banking brand and MENA’s sixth most valuable Islamic banking brand, with a value of USD 325 million, in The Banker’s 2022 brand valuation.
As part of its commitment to the UAE community, the Emirates Islamic Charity Fund provides financial aid to those in need, with a focus on food, shelter, health, education and social welfare contributions.