Dubai - MENA Herald: A senior delegation of global Islamic retail bankers, regulators, Shariah scholars and retail banking technology experts from around the world discussed the future of Smart Banking at the 7th World Islamic Retail Banking Conference, which opened today at the Taj Dubai Hotel, Dubai.
The influential gathering explored and analysed innovations, trends, technologies and competitive strategies that are providing customers with a smart Islamic retail banking experience.
Musa A.Z. Shihadeh, CEO & General Manager at Jordan Islamic Bank, inaugurated the conference with a keynote presentation focused on Shariah compliance in Islamic retail banking, which was followed by an exclusive session by Marwan Abouzeid, Core Banking Team Lead – BSG at Misys, who elaborated on the need for Islamic banks to adopt agile solutions.
A CEO roundtable moderated by Asad Batla, Head of Consumer Banking at Bank Nizwa, included CEOs from Jordan Islamic Bank, Tameer Micro Finance Bank and University Bank & University Islamic Financial. The panel discussed the impact of global macro trends on the retail banking industry.
With a focus on integrating the Sharia essentials of Islamic modes during the product structuring process, the Annual Open Fatwa Session was moderated by Khurram Hilal, MD, Head of Group Islamic Products at Standard Chartered Saadiq, and was joined by CEOs and Sharia Heads from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dar Al Sharia and Mashreq Al Islami.
"The conference has been a successful platform for us so far as 3i Infotech has been able to connect with key decision makers in Banking. We have used this platform to demonstrate the way we have helped our customers in the past in overcoming common banking challenges and maximizing value along with profitability with our softwares. Our team has also enabled the audience to get a hands on experience of our mobile banking solutions, which is a major priority today. We look forward to some rewarding outcomes as a result of our participation at this forum. " says Jeelani Basha, SVP & Reg. Head - KSA & Bahrain, 3i Infotech
Other sessions saw experts from the Government of Dubai, NCB Capital, Standard Chartered Saadiq and Bank Al Jazira engage the audience through panel discussions and presentations focusing on developing the Islamic interbank market and Sharia compliance gaps in the industry.
“The 7th World Islamic Retail Banking Conference has been our largest edition to date in terms of both speakers and delegates,” said Welma Williams, Deputy Production Director, Fleming Gulf Conferences. “Experts have discussed everything from regulatory frameworks, Sharia compliance and digitisation, to area-specific topics such as integrating and connecting distribution channels, micro banking and the realm of Fintech.”
The first day ended of the conference ended with the Islamic Retail Banking Awards 2015, organised by Cambridge IF Analytica and hosted by Fleming Gulf. The awards celebrated the achievements and recognised the contributions of individuals and institutions in the Islamic retail banking and finance industry
Today’s final day of the conference will feature another round of dedicated sessions on trends and the future potential of the Islamic retail banking sector led by experts from Bank Nizwa, Bank Alfalah Limited, Noor Bank, Emirates Islamic, Meezan Bank, Bank of Khartoum and Standard Chartered Bank Dubai among others.
The 7th WIRBC has attracted a world-class line-up of commercial partners including MISYS Finance Software as Platinum Sponsor, Infosys Finacle as Gold Sponsor, Loxon Solutions as Associate Sponsor, Emirates Airline as Official Airline and RTS Global Partners as Official Family Business Partner.