Islamic finance is moving beyond basic digitalization toward advanced operational transformation, driven by agentic AI and open-finance architectures.
The future will focus on autonomous, asset-agnostic solutions—such as tokenized assets and distributed-ledger technology—to build a more integrated global commerce architecture. The following institutions exemplify this progress, setting new benchmarks for digital excellence through innovative service models and customer-centric platforms.
By accelerating full-suite digitalization across services for retail customers and for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), Jordan’s Islamic International Arab Bank (IIAB) grew its market share to 22% of Jordan’s Islamic banking assets. This transformation featured upgraded remote onboarding, streamlined workflows, smart payments, and an AI-enabled virtual assistant (Rasel) launched to handle user inquiries.
Kuwait’s Boubyan Bank reinforced its global leadership with an award-winning mobile ecosystem featuring automated sharia-compliant wealth solutions, SME payment gateways, and private banking. The bank also leveraged AI to optimize operations through automated customer support and sophisticated sharia risk auditing.
Oman’s Meethaq Islamic Bank advanced its digital strategy by launching the AI-driven Meethaq Assistant—which achieves a 90% first-contact resolution rate—and migrating 80% of transactions to digital channels. Additionally, in May 2024, Meethaq introduced Sukuk Plus, Oman’s first sharia-compliant digital investment vehicle, to enhance the bank’s wealth offerings.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Dukhan Bank solidified its digital leadership by integrating Qatar Digital Identity for seamless verification and by launching the country’s first self-service kiosks for instant account issuance. The bank also expanded digital offerings to include instant personal-finance approvals, salary advances, and integrated mobile zakat-tax calculators.
An open-finance pioneer, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) became the first bank in the United Arab Emirates licensed as a Third-Party Provider under the central bank’s AlTareq framework. ADIB also drove rapid growth by pioneering fractional sukuk investing and automated lending, acquiring more than 300,000 digital customers while maintaining a highly efficient cost-to-income ratio.
