M’sia, Bahrain urged to lead world’s first Islamic fintech

MANAMA: Malaysia and Bahrain, two leading Islamic financial hubs in the world, should take the lead in exploring the potential of introducing the world’s first Islamic financial technology (fintech).

Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) executive director for Financial Services Business Development David Parker said the favourable initiatives, undertaken by regulators from both countries in issuing regulations related to fintech, provided a positive edge for Islamic fintech.

“If these two countries could collaborate, I think it will be really powerful.

“Now, this is something that we need to explore in 2017,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama and Malay Mail organised by EDB here recently.

Fintech is a service provided by Internet companies that streamline financial systems and make funding of the supply chain more efficient.

The technology has become a major game changer in the global financial market.

In Malaysia, Bank Negara governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim said a regulatory framework to enable the adoption of fintech would likely be announced by year-end. – Bernama