FinTech in the United Arab Emirates: A General Introduction to the Main Aspects of Financial Technology

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to explore different aspects of FinTech, including its evolution, its impact on the Financial Services industry, its relationship with Islamic Finance and its role in sustainable development, plus understanding its current status in the UAE.

Design/methodology/approach: Using the existing literature, books, website articles, and online news to explore and address various aspects of FinTech and incorporating the acquired knowledge to illustrate the UAE’s initiatives and efforts in adopting and promoting FinTech.

Findings: FinTech is the marriage of Finance and Technology, which has existed a long time ago. Hence, the future calls for collaboration between FinTech leaders and traditional financial institutions to ensure global financial growth. Moreover, FinTech can accelerate the development of Islamic Finance through its powerful tools that can be Sharia compatible, and it can lead to a better sustainable future via empowering and enabling Green Finance. Using this acquired knowledge, the chapter illustrates that the UAE has become a global and regional FinTech hub as it contributes profoundly to the empowerment of FinTech via providing the ideal ecosystem for FinTech initiatives to thrive, which has been witnessed to be extremely powerful, especially during challenging times like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications: Future research that would tackle different aspects of FinTech in the UAE can use this chapter as a guide toward acknowledging the imperative and the role of FinTech in facilitating financial transactions and perhaps explore ways by which FinTech can be used for wealth protection by paying deeper attention to RegTech and Cybersecurity.

Originality/value: This chapter contributes as an introductory guide to different aspects of FinTech that are relevant to MENA countries and using this knowledge to illustrate the status of FinTech in the UAE.

Citation

Alblooshi, F.S.A.K. (2022), "FinTech in the United Arab Emirates: A General Introduction to the Main Aspects of Financial Technology", Sindakis, S. and Aggarwal, S. (Ed.) Entrepreneurial Rise in the Middle East and North Africa: The Influence of Quadruple Helix on Technological Innovation (Advanced Strategies in Entrepreneurship, Education and Ecology), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 163-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-517-220221010