What are the most conducive countries for the growth of Islamic fintech?

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the world's leading jurisdictions for Islamic fintech companies, according to the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 from DinarStandard and Elipses.

The report studied 64 countries for its Global Islamic Fintech Index that represents the jurisdictions that are the most conducive to the growth of Islamic fintech and its ecosystem. 

The Index comprises 32 indicators across five different categories for each country: talent, regulation, infrastructure, market and ecosystem, and capital. 

These were then weighted to arrive at an overall score, with a heavier weighting given to the Islamic fintech market and ecosystem category as the most indicative of a country's current conduciveness to the sector. 

Malaysia scored 87 overall, ahead of second place Saudi Arabia (76), and the United Arab Emirates (70).

Malaysia's success comes from a supportive legal and regulatory environment, strong market for Islamic financial services, and availability of talent. 

The market size of Malaysia's Islamic fintech sector was $3 billion in 2020 and the report forecasts it to grow to $8.5 billion in 2025. 

Saudi Arabia’s Islamic fintech sector has strong government and regulatory support for entrepreneurs and the second largest outward remittance market in the world.

The Kingdom is the biggest market in the world for Islamic fintech, with $17.9 billion worth of transactions in 2020. The report forecasts CAGR of 22% for Saudi Arabia’s Islamic fintech, reaching $47.5 billion by 2025.

The UAE has a progressive regulatory environment with good access to capital.

The report estimates its Islamic fintech transaction volume at $3.7 billion in 2020 and forecasts it to reach $11 billion by 2025 based on a CAGR of 24%.

A high proportion of non-Islamic countries are in the top 20, with the United Kingdom coming in highest in fifth, followed by Singapore (12th), and USA (13th).

The Global Islamic Fintech Index in the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 produced by DinarStandard and Elipses can be downloaded in full from here. 

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