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This study aims to design appropriate micro-fintech models for Islamic microfinance institutions (IMFIs), especially Baitul Maal wat Tamwil (BMT) in Indonesia, thus enabling BMT to combine Islamic social and commercial microfinance optimally.

This study uses the analytic network process and Delphi methods, with three groups of experts as the respondents, namely, academician-regulators, BMT practitioners and Fintech practitioners.

The first results show that the micro-fintech tools needed by IMFI/BMT are digital banking, payment, peer-to-peer (P2P) financing, P2P social and e-commerce. These could be developed by a BMT alone or with an APEX or Association, which could also collaborate with an existing fintech company that specialises in micro-fintech, applying the offline to online approach. This means that commercial funding, as well as social fundraising of zakat and waqf, would be conducted online, whereas commercial financing for micro and small enterprise customers and the disbursement of zakat and waqf would be conducted offline. The second results show that the limited open ecosystem and hybrid ecosystem are the most appropriate micro-fintech ecosystems for IMFIs/BMT, with various alternative models. In addition, the private closed ecosystem preferred by BMT would be feasible if all criteria show improvement in the future.

This study is qualitative in nature. The methods used have limitations, meaning the models could be improved by incorporating other methods. Moreover, the case and respondents are all Indonesian, which means that the results may only be applicable to BMTs in Indonesia.

A BMT and/or BMT association could immediately apply micro-fintech with a limited open ecosystem, while in the future, they could apply micro-fintech with a private closed ecosystem.

The micro-fintech model could be used to optimise the collections of zakat, infaq and waqf, meaning BMT could provide more social programmes for those in need.

The growth of fintech in Islamic microfinance has occurred only recently, while only a limited number of studies have been conducted; therefore, no study exists on the development of a micro-fintech model appropriate for IMFIs, especially BMT.

This study aims at two objectives, i.e. first, to identify the core elements of the Islamic fintech ecosystem, and second, to use the identified core elements to analyse the development of such an ecosystem in Indonesia.

This work combines data analytics of text mining with qualitative analysis of human intelligence in two steps. First, knowledge discovery of the Islamic fintech ecosystem’s core elements using a sample of eight academic articles totalling 102 pages and 75,082 words. Second, using the identified core elements from step one to explore such ecosystem development in Indonesia. This stage employs a sample of 11 documents totalling 371 pages and 143,032 words from cyberspace.

The core elements of the Islamic fintech ecosystem identified are financial customers, fintech startups, government, technology developers, traditional financial institutions and fatwa (Islamic legal opinion). Furthermore, the development of the Islamic fintech ecosystem in Indonesia is examined under these identified core elements, providing critical insights into the Islamic fintech ecosystem currently established in the country's industry.

This study primarily used semi-structured data from cyberspace. Traditional approaches to qualitative data collection, e.g. focused group discussions and interviews, may be beneficial for future studies in addressing the Islamic fintech ecosystem issues.

Academia worldwide may benefit from this work in incorporating knowledge of Islamic fintech ecosystem’s core elements into Islamic finance literature. Specifically, fintech stakeholders in Indonesia may be advantaged to understand how far the Islamic fintech ecosystem has grown in the country.

The rise of unethical fintech peer-to-peer lending shows social problems in Indonesia’s fintech industry. The finding derives social implications that elucidate the current state of the country’s Islamic fintech ecosystem.

Using a kind of big data (i.e. semi-structured text data) from cyberspace and applying steps of text mining combined with qualitative analysis, may contribute to the creation of novelties for qualitative research on financial issues.

Fintech is an “untilled field” in which the relation between Fintechs and incumbents is yet to be understood. This paper aims to explore this relationship and advance its theoretical and practical understanding. It further contributes toward Fintech paradigm and research domain emergence that both to date remain yet elusive.

This paper adopted a multiple-case study strategy for the purpose of theory building. Seven players from the Fintech ecosystem in Quebec (Canada) were selected, representing financial institutions, Fintech start-ups and Quebec’s financial cluster. Primary data was collected via in-depth interviews with ten respondents at the level of vice presidents, Managers, directors, chief executive officers and founders, and unobtrusive data – in the form of running records, mass-media news reports, presentations and proceedings from Fintech events. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory methods and techniques.

Grounded in data, this paper puts forward a typology of “comfort zoning” and its four types: nimbling, imperiling, cocooning and discomforting.

Following the tenets of the grounded theory, four criteria are used to evaluate the emergent theory: fit, relevance, workability and modifiability. It is expected the interpretation and adoption of comfort zoning typology will be challenged, modified and enhanced by Fintech researchers and practitioners.

The comfort zoning typology would aid practitioners in their efforts to define and refine the domain of Fintech, problematize it and eventually enhance the relationship between Fintechs.

This paper fulfills an identified need to explore the relationship between Fintechs and incumbents and advance the theoretical and practical understanding of this relationship.

For decades, financing constraints have been a major obstacle to corporate performance. Volumes have been written about the probable factors that can help firms alleviate such financial constraints. Nonetheless, empirical evidence concerning the various perspectives on how inventory control may influence financing constraints has been surprisingly scant. Using the resource- and region-based view as theoretical lenses, this study seeks to estimate the relationship between lean inventory, regional financial technology (fintech) and financing constraints.

Utilizing a large-scale sample of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China's manufacturing sector, the authors empirically test their hypotheses by using hierarchical linear regression models with multiple high-dimensional fixed effects.

Results indicate that firms with higher levels of inventory leanness and those located in more fintech-developed regions are less likely to encounter financing constraints. Furthermore, inventory leanness and regional fintech ecosystem development interact with each other to mitigate financing constraints. Moreover, inventory leanness significantly decreases firms' financing constraints when the regional fintech ecosystem is highly developed.

The present research contributes to the literature on the interface of supply chain management and financial management. It also provides managerial implications for policymakers and SME stakeholders.

The study aims to investigate the influence of FinTech (Financial Technology) determinants such as crowdfunding, mobile payment and blockchain as potential facilitators in an entrepreneurial ecosystem for undertaking decisions in Tunisia, as an example of emerging economy.

Quantitative research was carried out with data collection based on a questionnaire that has been sent via email to young Tunisian entrepreneurs (potential or actual). A following regression was calculated on 93 respondents.

Analysis of the data showed that most of the relationships under investigation were confirmed. Statistical tests highlighted that knowledge, availability and access about crowdfunding and blockchain had a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial intention. Regarding mobile payment, there was a negative and insignificant effect on entrepreneurial intention.

From the evidence of the research, Fintech ecosystems may positively influence the decision to undertake, with relevant implications at institutional, industrial and individual level. More specifically, demonstrating a positive and significant relationship between some main dimensions of FinTech and entrepreneurial intention and emphasizing the contribution of related knowledge to intellectual capital accumulation through entrepreneurial education, this study seems to be unique in examining and verifying this potential effect.

This article aims to explore legal challenges regarding the regulation and supervision of Islamic Fintech and to construct Sharia compliance regulations to strengthen the supervision of Islamic Fintech operation.

This type of research is legal research, adopting the statute approach, comparative approach, and conceptual approach. The focus of the study is Indonesia with comparative studies with Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom are all on the top five countries in the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index. The list comprises countries that are most conducive to the growth of the Islamic Fintech market and ecosystem. However, weak supervision and low Sharia compliance are still becoming prominent challenges in the implementation of Islamic Fintech, while Sharia compliance is the core principle for Islamic finance regulation. Another finding is that a good ecosystem of Islamic Fintechs needs supportive regulations and policies, a Sharia Supervisory Board, and standards of Islamic Fintech Shariah governance.

This study examines the regulation and supervision of Islamic Fintech in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom countries whose Islamic Fintech industry is growing rapidly.

This study is a strong reference for countries with potential Islamic finance, especially when they are constructing the Sharia compliance regulations to strengthen the regulation and supervision of the Islamic finance industries.

Sharia compliance regulations can be a subsystem in the Islamic financial ecosystem to encourage Sharia economic growth in various countries.

To ensure Sharia compliance, it is recommended to take some steps: (a) creating the Sharia compliance regulations; (b) creating the Sharia supervisory boards; and (c) standardizing the Sharia governance of Islamic Fintech.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to explore different aspects of FinTech, including its evolution, its impact on the Financial Services industry, its relationship with Islamic Finance and its role in sustainable development, plus understanding its current status in the UAE.

Design/methodology/approach: Using the existing literature, books, website articles, and online news to explore and address various aspects of FinTech and incorporating the acquired knowledge to illustrate the UAE’s initiatives and efforts in adopting and promoting FinTech.

Findings: FinTech is the marriage of Finance and Technology, which has existed a long time ago. Hence, the future calls for collaboration between FinTech leaders and traditional financial institutions to ensure global financial growth. Moreover, FinTech can accelerate the development of Islamic Finance through its powerful tools that can be Sharia compatible, and it can lead to a better sustainable future via empowering and enabling Green Finance. Using this acquired knowledge, the chapter illustrates that the UAE has become a global and regional FinTech hub as it contributes profoundly to the empowerment of FinTech via providing the ideal ecosystem for FinTech initiatives to thrive, which has been witnessed to be extremely powerful, especially during challenging times like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications: Future research that would tackle different aspects of FinTech in the UAE can use this chapter as a guide toward acknowledging the imperative and the role of FinTech in facilitating financial transactions and perhaps explore ways by which FinTech can be used for wealth protection by paying deeper attention to RegTech and Cybersecurity.

Originality/value: This chapter contributes as an introductory guide to different aspects of FinTech that are relevant to MENA countries and using this knowledge to illustrate the status of FinTech in the UAE.

The aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of the transformation of the bank's scope driven by fintechs.

The conceptual foundations for a comprehensive transformation of the bank governance through financial technologies (fintechs) are underexplored. In order to develop such foundations, the authors adopt transaction cost economics (TCE), the concepts of external enablers and a modular organizational design, as well as a systematic literature review.

The results point to three scenarios of the banks' scope, depending on the adopted technological mechanisms and related effects that change the characteristics of organizational activities, justifying new bank boundaries. The most advanced application of fintechs results in a modularized network scenario leading to the emergence of financial ecosystems.

The proposed micro-perspective of decisional rules in an individual organization is unique in the current literature that predominantly focuses on the banking sector at large. The identified scenarios are valuable for solid theoretical and empirical grounding and can be further exploited in decision simulations and empirical studies.

The proposed theoretical framework points to the rationales and consequences of adopted technologies for the boundaries of a bank organization.

This paper provides three contributions to the literature on technology-driven transformations of organizations with a focus on banks. First, the authors elaborate a theoretical framework for establishing the bank's boundaries in response to the expansion of financial technologies. Second, the authors add to the knowledge accumulation in the area of organizational transformations based on the ICT adoption, in particular, to the literature on the modular organizational design. Third, the authors contribute to the decision-maker practice by proposing the alternative options of banks' scope transformed through fintechs.

This paper aims to explore the prospects and the challenges of Islamic fintech in Indonesia. This study also proposes a comprehensive legal framework to encourage and accelerate the growth of the Islamic economy.

This study is the result of legal research with a statute approach and conceptual approach. The types of data used are legal materials consisting of primary legal materials and secondary legal materials. The technique of collecting legal materials is done by using library research techniques. The legal materials were analyzed using the legal norm method.

Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. However, the market size of Indonesia’s Islamic fintech is still below Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia’s Islamic fintech is the biggest market in the world, with $17.9bn worth of transactions in 2020 while Iran is at $9.2bn, UAE $3.7bn, Malaysia $3.0bn and Indonesia $2.9bn. This condition was due to various challenges in the Islamic fintech industry in Indonesia, including inadequate regulations; complicated permit procedures; misuse of fintech for financing terrorism; rampant occurrence of illegal fintech businesses; and consumer disputes in the fintech sector. These challenges require the construction of a comprehensive legal framework through the formation of an Act on Fintech.

The focus of this research was limited to the problems occurring in the Islamic fintech sector in Indonesia as a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

The results of this research can be used as recommendations for the formulation of comprehensive policies for the growth and development of Islamic fintech.

Islamic fintech requires a comprehensive legal framework that functions to encourage the development of the Islamic fintech industry, digital economy growth and legal mitigation of various legal risks and misuse of fintech for financial crime and financing terrorism.

This paper proposes an original idea of creating a legal framework in a form of the Islamic Fintech Act. The Act should cover such legal substances as follows: Islamic compliance; an integrated one-stop permit procedure; division of authority, coordination and synergy among authorities; prevention and resolution of digital financial system crisis; criminal sanctions; and consumer dispute resolution mechanisms and alternative institution for fintech consumer dispute resolution.

The aim of this review is to reflect the current state of Financial Technology (FinTech) research along with its journey of development. Further, a conceptual framework showing the interaction of independent, mediating, and moderating variables with dependent variables (acceptance of FinTech products and services) along with propositions is prepared to facilitate the future researchers. This systematic literature review consists of 110 articles from 78 journals indexed in two academic databases (Scopus and/or Web of Science), extracting facts and figures about FinTech during 2016–2021. Our findings contribute to the literature by exemplifying that FinTech is a mixed set of threats and opportunities. In the present review only 18 articles belong to 2016–2017 but 54 articles are considered from 2020–2021, the increasing number of FinTech articles in high-ranking journals indicate the speedily growing popularity of FinTech. Similarly, secondary data based articles are dominating the primary data based ones. Further, regression analysis and PLS-SEM are the most popular statistical techniques among the authors of FinTech articles. To the best of knowledge of the authors, this is a unique study in which the latest FinTech research findings are skimmed.