Emirates Islamic, the leading Islamic financial institution in the UAE, was recently awarded ‘Most Innovative Islamic Bank’ by Islamic Finance News at a ceremony held in Dubai. 

The Islamic Finance News Awards honour the best in the global Islamic financial industry and are among the most prestigious awards recognised by Islamic banks worldwide. 

The award reflects Emirates Islamic’s commitment to digital innovation, reflected in its introduction of several ‘first to market’ solutions in the global Islamic banking sector. The bank has been a pioneer among Islamic peers in contactless payment solutions as the first Islamic financial institution to bring all three wallets, namely Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay to its customers. Emirates Islamic was also the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app, which now has a 4.5/5 App Store Rating with over 17,000 reviews. The bank’s digital-first approach has been steadily gaining traction, with approximately 60% of customers now banking through online and mobile banking channels. Recent innovative features in digital banking include cardless withdrawal at ATMs, smart pass authentication for additional security and remote branch queue ticket, bringing additional convenience to customers. 

“Emirates Islamic has long been at the forefront of innovation in the Islamic financial services sector, and this award is testimony to the success of our customer-centric digital transformation efforts,” said Suhail Bin Tarraf, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Islamic. 

“According to findings from the 2018 ISLAMIC BANKING INDEX by EMIRATES ISLAMIC™, as Islamic banking finds favour among a larger customer base, the sector needs to continue to invest in digital technology to create innovative and differentiated customer experiences. At Emirates Islamic, we remain committed to offering products and services that are aligned to our customers’ needs as well as Dubai’s vision of becoming the global capital of the Islamic Economy,” he added. 

Emirates Islamic has been consistently recognised for its innovations over the years. In addition to the ‘Most Innovative Islamic Bank’ Award, the Bank has won the prestigious Euromoney award for innovation in Islamic Finance in 2015 and Global Finance’s Innovator in Islamic Finance award for EI trade, the world’s first Shari’a-compliant online trade finance and supply chain platform. Among other accolades, the bank was named ‘Best Islamic Banking Brand’ by Global Brands Magazine and recognized as ‘Best Islamic Bank’ in the UAE by Global Finance. Emirates Islamic was also recognised for its range of innovative products at the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2018, winning ‘Best Islamic Card’ and ‘Best Mobile Banking App’.