Islamic Finance and Fintech: A Scoping Review

1.1 Background and Relevance

Islamic finance built upon Sharia principles prioritizes ethics, risk-sharing, and social responsibility (Suzuki, 2022). Financial Technology (FinTech) is a technological revolution reshaping traditional financial services, and leverages innovations like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and mobile banking, offering novel avenues for financial inclusion and efficiency (Bedoui, 2021). The adoption of Fin-tech by Shariah-based financial services brings remarkable advantages to Islamic finance industry since surprisingly, its fundamental values align seamlessly with FinTech (Hassan, 2022). Technology, blockchain enhances transparency and compliance, ensuring adherence to the Sharia principle of transparency forging trust among stakeholders. Furthermore, FinTech streamlines risk-sharing, promoting equitable distribution of financial risks and rewards through digital investment tools (Irfan M. E., 2023).

The integration of Islamic finance and FinTech represents a transformative landscape and far-reaching implications for the global financial market (Raza Rabbani, 2022). At the same time, the greatest challenge faced by digital technology concerns data security and privacy which stand in direct contractions with Shariah principle (Suzuki, 2022). Therefore, it is pertinent to explore and understand the current state of affairs through the academic lens, and how far this integration has been successfully implemented. As both fields are evolving research becomes pivotal guiding the future researches. To this end, this paper explores published literature in the domain of Islamic finance and Fintech to understand current state of work and to guide future researches by synthesising and summarising the published work. This paper is organised and divided into 4 sections: section 1 introduces the paper; section 2 discusses research methods and materials used. Section 3 synthesises the literature, section 4 elaborates the quantitative synthesis of the literature through bibliometric analysis and finally section concludes the paper.

1.2 Research Question

Is there a sufficient body of scholarly literature addressing the integration of Financial Technology (FinTech) and Islamic finance, and what key themes and trends can be identified within this literature through bibliometric analysis?

1.3 Advancing the Knowledge Frontier

This paper significantly contributes to the existing body of knowledge by pioneering an in-depth exploration of the confluence of Islamic finance and Financial Technology (FinTech). It offers novel insights into the evolving landscape of these two domains and their intricate interplay. This research not only enriches our understanding of the complex relationship between FinTech and Islamic finance but also provides valuable guidance for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to navigate this transformative intersection while upholding the principles of Sharia law. Through comprehensive literature synthesis and quantitative bibliometric analysis, this paper advances the knowledge frontier and sets the stage for informed and innovative future research in this critical field.