Emirates Islamic: Merging Tradition with Modern Banking Solutions

Emirates Islamic was founded on the mission of providing banking services that comply with Shari’a principles to revolutionize a new path in the financial landscape of the UAE. Fast-forward to today, and the bank is leading the way in Islamic finance, offering a wide range of products and services to cater to both the individual small business and major corporates. So it comes as no surprise that Emirates Islamic recently snatched the titles of “Best Islamic Bank in the UAE” and “Most Innovative Islamic Bank.”. Let’s see how Emirates Islamic has become a vital player in the financial setup of UAE.

Emirates Islamic was established as Emirates Islamic Bank in 2004. It came into inception with the focus of providing Shari’a compliant financial products and services to meet the increasing demand for Islamic banking in the region. Combining the values of Islamic finance with modern banking solutions quickly positioned the bank as trustworthy and innovative in the UAE. Emirates Islamic has developed into one of the biggest Islamic financial institutions in the UAE. Today, the bank has a wide reach to 40 branches and over 221 ATMs and CDMs spread across the United Arab Emirates in order to reach out to the customers across the UAE.

What, however, distinguishes Emirates Islamic from all the other Islamic banks in the field is that the bank does indeed boast of innovation. The bank was one of the pioneers to adopt the most advanced technology in customer experience. Emirates Islamic was the first Islamic bank offering mobile banking application in the UAE, and it enabled its customers to have a full control of their accounts from anywhere and at any given time. The bank also launched Apple Pay and became the first Islamic bank in the world with direct offerings of services with Chat Banking via WhatsApp. Below are some of the milestones showing the bank’s continued drive towards pushing past the boundaries and offering services that not only provide convenience but adhere strictly to Shari’a compliance.

No doubt these new initiatives by Emirates Islamic have gone unnoticed. It has won numerous awards based on its performance as well as its contribution towards Islamic finance. For the year 2024, it emerged as ‘Best Overall Islamic Bank’ and as ‘Most Innovative Islamic Bank’ at the just concluded Islamic Finance News Awards. Further in the same year, it clinched the title of ‘Most Innovative Islamic Bank’ at the prestigious Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards. The series of accolades also speaks to the commitment and dedication of the bank to excellence and its excellence in excelling in the face of the rapid changes in the financial world.

Emirates Islamic is an organisation committed to the community of the United Arab Emirates. Emirates Islamic Charity Fund was initiated to provide the needy with financial support. Included are food, shelter, health, education, and social welfare that go in keeping with how the bank espouses and embodies making a meaningful difference for society-at-large as it operates in it. The initiative merely serves to affirm this larger ambition by banks toward promoting greater social responsibility and contributing to the general welfare of the community, principles that are also consonant with Islam.

Founded on solid Islamic finance principles and cutting-edge technology, combined with a firm commitment to social responsibility, the bank is definitely off to a great start. With innovative products and extensions of services to all parts of the UAE, Emirates Islamic will remain the bedrock of the UAE’s financial landscape for decades ahead.