Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, partnered with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading financial institution in the UAE with more than AED 122 billion in assets, to seek opportunities to collaborate and consult on initiatives to promote the growth and development of the FinTech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
“The collaboration with ADIB represents our efforts working with stakeholders to support innovation in a world-class regulatory environment. ADGM and ADIB share common objective in advocating best practice, nurturing and fostering innovation and facilitating growth in our FinTech ecosystem,” cited Richard Teng, CEO, FSRA, of ADGM. “We look forward to working closely with the ADIB team to develop initiatives and programmes that will capture new business opportunities and expand our FinTech reach locally and globally.”
[clickToTweet tweet=”.@ADIBTweets signs #mou with @ADGlobalMarket @FintechInsider_ #RichardTeng #FSRA ” quote=”ADGM and ADIB share common objective in advocating best practice, nurturing and fostering innovation and facilitating growth in UAE FinTech ecosystem”]
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Sagheer Mufti, COO at ADIB, and Teng, CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, and witnessed by witnessed by H.E Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman, ADGM and Khamis Bu Haroon, Vice Chairman and Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. Under the terms of the MoU, ADIB will partner with the FSRA across a range of Sharia’a-compliant Fintech-related initiatives. This partnership further complements ADGM’s ongoing innovation and FinTech commitment to support entrepreneurs, start-ups and members of the Abu Dhabi Regulatory Laboratory (RegLab) — a regulatory framework that offers a controlled, supportive environment for FinTech innovators to develop and test their products and services with the regulator.
“Both ADIB and ADGM have placed considerable focus and investment into supporting FinTech companies which can deliver additional value for our customers. The long-term success of the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE will be achieved through collaboration between established financial institutions and FinTech entrepreneurs, underpinned by a robust and supportive regulatory environment,” noted ADIB COO Mufti. “Formalising our partnership with ADGM puts in place a framework through which ADIB can leverage its own experience in developing innovative technology to support FinTech start-ups.”
ADIB and ADGM will also explore and participate in joint innovation projects on the development and application of technologies such as digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers and artificial intelligence. Both entities will also seek to develop local FinTech entrepreneurship through mentorship and knowledge transfer across incubation, accelerator, academic and internship programs.
Over 67% of transactions were carried out on ADIB’s digital platforms in H1 2017, including an average of 1.7 million mobile transactions every month. As part of its digital innovation strategy, the bank has also recently revamped its internet banking platform to enable customers to conduct their banking online in a simpler and more intuitive manner across all devices.
ADGM will be hosting its first FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit on 22-23 October 2017. As the FinTech Hub, ADGM has established and in the process of finalising about eight FinTech bridges with key international financial centres and jurisdictions in the recent six months. These cross-border partnerships enable ADGM to maintain a practical, open and inclusive global FinTech centre that has been serving the communities in Abu Dhabi and the greater MENA region. As an IFC, ADGM has accomplished notable milestones and established strategic partnerships to bolster the Fintech ecosystem since March 2016. It is the first IFC in the MENA region to establish a dedicated and open regulatory framework in November to licence FinTech stakeholders and launched a RegLab to accelerate Fintech innovation. As a global FinTech Hub, ADGM continues to enhance its international network with the MENA region, Asia, Australia, US, UK, Europe to facilitate greater access to markets, capital and regulatory recognition for Fintech players. ADGM actively engages its stakeholders, forge partnerships and collaborations to develop a conducive and effective Fintech ecosystem.