Emirates Islamic bank has launched a fintech accelerator campaign in collaboration with Plug and Play Abu Dhabi . The campaign is a call to action for Islamic fintechs and financial startups with propositions that can enhance customer journeys across SME financing, trade finance, and financial wellbeing.

This builds on Plug and Play Abu Dhabi’s partnership with the banking group. Earlier in 2022, Emirates NBD had partnered with the platform to boost its open innovation ecosystem globally. As a player in digital banking, Emirates Islamic has continued to strengthen its digital offerings, allowing customers easy access to a range of transactions backed by banking innovation.

In 2022, the bank launched various initiatives including ATM/CDM transformation and cutting-edge chatbot banking, registering a 21% increase in online and mobile banking transactions. Harnessing innovation in the Islamic fintech ecosystem The fintech accelerator campaign will enable the bank to deliver differentiated offerings with the support and co-creation of solutions with fintech players that operate in the Islamic fintech space. Through Plug and Play Abu Dhabi’s robust global network, Emirates Islamic will extend its Islamic fintech collaboration to a wider reach of fintech accelerators from around the world.

The campaign aims to serve Emirates Islamic’s priority areas, in which Plug and Play Abu Dhabi will actively screen global start-ups that best fit Emirates Islamic’s business needs including: Streamlining the banking process for small businesses, providing affordable solutions and real-time finance, while optimising back-office operational efficiencies; Digitising the trade finance process for an improved customer journey, reduced turnaround time, minimal operating costs, and a more secure platform; Personalising financial well-being through insights and portfolios that help customers manage their money more meaningfully. Officials from Emirates Islamic said that with the support of players like Plug and Play, they aim to create a robust ecosystem of financial innovators and game changers that further their exploration into the potential of fintech capabilities. Emirates Islamic continues to embrace emerging technologies to further the impact of Islamic finance across the globe, supporting the vision of making Dubai the global capital of the Islamic banking industry.

Also commenting on the development, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi’s representatives said that they are happy to collaborate with Emirates Islamic and support UAE's mission in driving innovation and providing cutting-edge fintech solutions. Through this collaboration, they hope to spur the development of new ideas and technologies that can help streamline the banking process for SME's, digitise the trade finance process, and personalise financial well-being. Together, they will create a more inclusive and secure financial landscape for the people of the UAE and customers of Emirates Islamic.

.