Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM, the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, today marked a new partnership with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, ADIB, a leading financial institution, 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 Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was signed by Sagheer Mufti, Chief Operating Officer at ADIB, and Richard Teng, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, FSRA, of the ADGM, and witnessed by witnessed by 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-compliant FinTech-related initiatives. The 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.

Speaking on the announcement, Sagheer Mufti said, "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. 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."

Richard Teng said, "The collaboration with ADIB represents our efforts working with stakeholders to support innovation in a world-class regulatory environment. ADGM and ADIB share a common objective in advocating best practices, nurturing and fostering innovation and facilitating growth in our FinTech ecosystem. 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."

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 programmes.

ADIB continues to integrate pioneering FinTech solutions across its range of banking services. The bank has partnered with Fidor to launch the region’s first ‘community-based digital bank. The new platform is designed to fit the lifestyle of millennial consumers, also known as 'Generation Y', as well as those looking for a digital offering that matches their banking needs.

This year, ADIB launched its new generation of digital branch called ‘ADIB Express’, providing customers with access to an array of digital services within the branch environment.

Over 67 percent 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.