London - Public Lecture: FinTech in Islamic finance, 22 Feb 2017, Wednesday, 6.30-8.00 pm

Venue: University of East London, Main Lecture Theathre, University Square Stratford.
Speaker: Professor Volker Nienhaus

FinTech is disruptive. Existing regulations do not fit well with new products. “Islamic” FinTech adds the requirement of Shariah compliance to the legal complexity of financial innovations. Islamic jurists and Shariah standard setters have not yet systematically dealt with issues such as “cryptocurrencies,” risk mitigation in crowdfunding, smart contracts, or the status of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs). Is there a need for “Shariah sandboxes” to reduce Shariah non-compliance risks for innovators?

Dr. Volker Nienhaus was a Professor of Economics at the University of Bochum and President of the University of Marburg. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Malaysia, consultant to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and a member of the International Advisory Panel of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF).