Emirates Islamic pioneers fully digital supply chain finance solution ‘Islamic smartSCF’ in the UAE
Dubai, 02 October 2025: Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, has launched a first-of-its-kind fully digital, Shariah-compliant supply chain finance solution named ‘Islamic smartSCF’.
‘Islamic smartSCF’ is a Shariah-compliant financing solution that supports a portfolio of vendors and suppliers of large corporations with early settlement of the invoices. Large corporations, while extending their credit risk to suppliers, can obtain financial benefits such as discounts from suppliers, while smaller vendors enjoy liquidity offered by the bank. The product offers favourable accounting treatment as it is balance sheet neutral and not classified as a finance in the corporate balance sheet.
Farid Al Mulla, Chief Executive Officer at Emirates Islamic, commented: “We are pleased to announce that Emirates Islamic is the first Islamic bank in the UAE to introduce a fully digital, Shariah-compliant solution for supply chain finance, redefining the way businesses manage their working capital. This solution underscores the bank’s commitment to advancing Islamic finance beyond traditional markets. As a pioneer in the Islamic finance sector, we are proud to align with national objectives of transforming the UAE into competitive, sustainable and diversified economy.”
Mohammad Kamran Wajid, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Emirates Islamic, said: “As businesses change their preference towards alternative financing models that align with ESG principles, Emirates Islamic is setting new industry benchmarks while empowering them with ethical and efficient liquidity solutions. Further, the bank's digital innovation capabilities are a testament to its success in integrating Islamic Banking principles with customer needs.”
The Islamic smartSCF product offers a range of benefits to corporations and their suppliers. Corporations can include their suppliers under the Islamic smartSCF programme and benefit from extended and enhanced payment terms for their invoices. Suppliers, in turn, gain protection by accessing liquidity much earlier than the contractual payment terms, along with the advantage of lower profit rates. Additionally, businesses receive favourable accounting treatment, as the product is balance sheet neutral and not classified as finance on the corporate balance sheet. Suppliers also have the flexibility to receive "on-demand" financing tailored to their needs. Furthermore, the entire process is seamless, with complete digital real-time processing, ensuring an efficient and smooth experience for all parties involved.
Known interchangeably as payables, Invoice Financing or supplier finance, Supply Chain Finance (SCF) serves as a cash flow solution, enabling businesses to liberate working capital from their global supply chains. Emirates Islamic’s new solution offers working capital and liquidity solutions to businesses through a completely digital journey, reaffirming the bank’s commitment to innovation, digitisation and FinTech offerings in the Islamic Finance space.