Saudi Arabia biggest market for Islamic fintech - study

Saudi Arabia is the biggest market for Islamic fintech among Muslim-majority countries, with $17.9 billion in estimated transaction volumes in 2020, according to a study released on Wednesday (March 17).

The study from DinarStandard--Salaam Gateway's parent company--and UK-based Elipses forecasts the Kingdom's Islamic fintech market size to grow by 22% CAGR to reach $47.5 billion in 2025. 

Five jurisdictions contributed 75% of the market size in 2020: Saudi Arabia ($17.9 billion), Iran ($9.2 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($3.7 billion), Malaysia ($3 billion), and Indonesia ($2.9 billion). 

The study estimates the transaction volumes generated by Islamic fintechs in Muslim-majority countries in 2020 to be $49 billion and forecasts growth of 21% CAGR to $128 billion by 2025.

However, while Saudi Arabia leads as the biggest-sized market, the report ranks Malaysia as the world's leading jurisdiction for Islamic fintechs based on its supportive legal and regulatory environment, strong market for Islamic financial services, and availability of talent. 

This is based on 64 jurisdictions on the Global Islamic Fintech Index that represents which countries are most conducive to the growth of the industry and its ecosystem. 

Saudi Arabia comes in second after Malaysia and ahead of third-placed United Arab Emirates on the Index.

The Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 produced by DinarStandard and Elipses can be downloaded in full from here. 

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