Over the years, Islamic Banking Industry (IBI) has shown phenomenal growth, with 20% share in total assets, 25% in advances and 22% in deposits of the overall banking industry as of Dec-22. Today, IBI network comprises 22 Islamic banking institutions, i.e. 5 full-fledged Islamic banks and 17 conventional banks (~80% of total), having Islamic banking branches.

Pakistan has a population that is in excess of 180 million people. However, penetration in the financial sector is extremely low, with only 2.4% of the population having access to credit from formal financial sources. Out of the total adult population of Pakistan, the financially excluded population make up 53%.

To remain competitive, banks globally are focusing on mobile-first; end-to-end friction-less journeys and hyper-personalized experiences, through an eco-system of third parties, leveraging customer data to offer smart propositions tailored around lifestyle needs.

Combining the words ‘financial’ and ‘technology’, fintech is technology-enabled financial innovation, which is changing the way financial institutions provide – and consumers and businesses use – financial services.
Although ‘fintech’ is a relatively new term, innovation has always been important in the financial sector. The key difference now is the pace and impact of change.