Emirates Islamic wins big at Islamic Finance News Awards 2022

Emirates Islamic wins three awards in the UAE: ‘Best Retail Bank, ‘Most Innovative Bank’ and ‘Best Digital Offering’

Dubai, 10 April 2023: Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, has secured three prestigious awards at the Islamic Finance News Awards 2022, recognizing the bank’s market-leading proposition, customer-centricity and innovative banking propositions.   

Emirates Islamic was named ‘Best Retail Bank in the UAE’ for excellence in consumer-focused banking propositions. The bank has been at the forefront of innovative products and services, including the flagship Kunooz Savings Account, which rewards customers for good savings habits. Emirates Islamic is a key player in the UAE credit card market, with products across banking segments including its range of Etihad Guest Credit Cards and Skywards Credit Cards. In 2022, Emirates Islamic expanded its product offering in the retail banking space with the launch of Emarati Family Savings account and Super Savings Etihad Guest Account.

The bank also won ‘Most Innovative Bank in the UAE’ in recognition of its commitment to digital, customer-centric banking experiences across multiple segments. Emirates Islamic continues to be a digital frontrunner among peers in the Islamic banking sector, with a long-term commitment to bringing banking innovation to UAE customers. Following on from being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to offer all three major wallets – Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay – Emirates Islamic became the first Islamic bank in the world to introduce WhatsApp Banking for its customers.

The bank’s third win was for ‘Best Digital Offering in the UAE’ for its transformative digital banking proposition and integration of industry-leading technology. The bank’s digital-first approach has steadily gained traction over the years, resulting in a 21% increase in online and mobile banking transactions in 2022. Emirates Islamic supports its customers with a number of innovative features in digital banking including cardless withdrawal at ATMs, smart pass authentication for additional security and remote branch queue ticket, bringing additional convenience.

Mohammad Kamran Wajid, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Emirates Islamic, commented, “Prestigious industry accolades such as the Islamic Finance News awards serve as valuable affirmation of the hard work and dedication of our team at Emirates Islamic.  With customer satisfaction at the heart of everything we do, we remain committed to leading innovation and driving growth in Islamic banking and finance, in line with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision to make Dubai the global capital of the Islamic economy.”

Also commenting on the awards, Fuad Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer at Emirates Islamic, said, “We are pleased to be recognised for our innovative propositions and customer experiences yet again. As part of our customer-centric strategy, we have invested heavily in technology and digital banking solutions to provide our customers with a superior customer experience and we will continue to make further strides towards our goal of creating a superior banking experience for our customers and maintaining our position as the nation’s preferred Islamic Bank.”

The Islamic Finance News Awards honor the best in the Islamic financial industry and are one of the most prestigious Islamic finance awards, highly recognised by the global Islamic capital markets for awarding those who have played a critical and impactful role in unravelling the potential of Islamic finance. The 17th IFN Awards once again recognised the best and leading players in the global Islamic finance industry and their contributions in 2022.

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About Emirates Islamic:

Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE. Established in 2004 as Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE. 

Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of Shari’a-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 42 branches and 209 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast-growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank is an innovator, being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app and offer Apple Pay, as well as being the first Islamic bank in the world to launch Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp. 

Emirates Islamic has consistently received local and international awards, in recognition of its strong record of performance and innovation in banking. Emirates Islamic won recognition in 2022 for its financial performance, innovative products and customer experience. The bank won three awards at the World Finance Islamic Finance Awards – namely “Best Islamic Bank in UAE”; “Best Islamic Bank in Customer Experience, UAE” and “Best Credit Card in UAE” for its Etihad Guest Credit Cards – a range of exclusive, co-branded credit cards with Etihad Airways. The bank was also named ‘Best Islamic Bank for SMEs’ at the MEA Finance Awards, recognised for its innovative proposition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and its status as a preferred bank for entrepreneurs seeking Shari’a -compliant products and services for their businesses. Emirates Islamic was named the UAE’s most valuable Islamic banking brand and MENA’s sixth most valuable Islamic banking brand, with a value of USD 325 million, in The Banker’s 2022 brand valuation.

As part of its commitment to the UAE community, the Emirates Islamic Charity Fund provides financial aid to those in need, with a focus on food, shelter, health, education and social welfare contributions.