Fintech in Islamic Finance

A quick search of the available books on fintech reveals that one of the earliest publications on the subject was published in 2016. With the exception of a few books on fintech published in earlier years, most leading books on fintech were published in 2016 due to the novelty of the phenomenon. Fintech in Islamic finance should be generally understood in a broad manner as Islamic financial services transcend mere banking. For the purpose of identifying the applicable Shariah principles, it may be helpful to define fintech in its general sense and identify its different components and applications. One key aspect of fintech which is conspicuously missing in the ongoing discussions and application of fintech in Islamic financial services and products is online dispute resolution. From the Shariah perspective, maqasid al-Shariah will continue to be relevant in fintech, as the maslahah provided by the new technologies trumps any other argument that seeks to preserve the traditional financing methods.