Fintech, Pandemic, and the Islamic Financial System: Innovative Financial Services and Its Shariah Compliance

The present study aims to examine the role of Islamic financial system in the recovery of post-COVID-19 pandemic and possible role to be played by the disruptive innovation called Islamic Fintech. The study takes a discourse analysis route to examine the disruptions created by the pandemic on the overall global Islamic economy. Islamic financial system has long established its credentials as the most resilient and sustainable financial system during the global financial crisis of 2008 and the current pandemic provides another opportunity to reestablish its position in the financial sphere and emerge as the main contender to the conventional financial system. The disruptions created by the pandemic have spared no one and created havoc in every sector of the global economy. Islamic financial system has certain ethical and social financial services such as Zakat, Qardh-Al-Hasan, Awaqaf, sadaqa, and Islamic microfinance with wide-ranging social reach aimed at the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. The study provides an overview of the Fintech-based Islamic financial services that can be used to provide efficient, reliable, cost-effective, and innovative financial services to its customers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the study are expected to help the Islamic financial institutions, governments, regulators, and policymakers efficient use of Fintech in solving the problems created by the pandemic. The study is also expected to contribute to creating a more sustainable and resilient alternative to the conventional financial system.