Smart Financial Transactions Platform

Under the slogan of financial inclusion as one of the objectives of the Group of Twenty (G20), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG), is developing the "Smart Financial Transactions Platform" (Platform). The two main objectives of the Platform are as follows two-fold: a) Raising awareness amongst women and the youth regarding the importance of financial education; and b) Motivating the targeted group to practice healthy financial habits which are necessary to make smart financial decisions in several aspects such as setting financial goals, financial planning, preparing monthly budgets, saving and borrowing money, diversifying investments, overcoming debts, and avoiding falling prey to the trap of fraud, financial fraud or financial crimes.

To achieve these goals, ICD is working on organizing financial education events and competitions, which are to be launched in the first week of October 2020, with the aim of reaching the largest possible number of young people aged between 18 and 26. It is to be noted that the results of these events will be included in the IsDBG reports for the Group of Twenty in relation to the goals of "financial inclusion", as well as the indicators of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 related to raising the general level of financial education and saving rates among adults.

On this occasion, the CEO of ICD, Mr. Ayman Amin Sejiny, declared: “This program will contribute to raising financial awareness, especially in the area of financial planning. It will also improve purchasing habits, the pattern of continuous savings, as well as making sound financial decisions, which will help develop the economy and contribute to the prosperity of individuals' lives.

On his part, the Director of the ICD Effectiveness Development Department, Dr. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Yami, affirmed the program has large developmental dimensions which help the targeted group to make smart and sound financial decisions and to shift from the concept of borrowing to the concept of saving. It also helps in developing personal wealth, especially for the post-retirement period.

For more information and for participating in the events, please visit the event's website:

https://www.icd-finlit.org

 

About the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral financial institution established by the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) during its twenty-fourth (24) annual meeting held in Rajab 1420H (November 1999) in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ICD was established to be the IDBG private sector window. The authorized capital of the Corporation is USD 4 billion. The shareholders consist of the IsDB, 55-member countries, and 5 financial institutions from the member countries.

The ICD aims to play a complementary role to the activities of IsDB and the national financing institutions in the member countries by focusing on private sector institutions in their various activities and operations in full compliance with the principles of Islamic Shari’ah. In addition to extending financing and financial services, ICD provides advisory and consultancy services to governments and private sector institutions in order to adopt policies for establishing, expanding, and modernizing private sector companies, developing Equity Capital Market (ECM), Debt Capital Market (DCM) in the form of Sukuk, adopting better management practices, and strengthening the role of the market economy. ICD focuses its financing on development projects (such as infrastructure and private equity funds) that aim to create job opportunities and to encourage exports.

In order to achieve all these goals, ICD establishes and strengthens cooperation and partnership relationships with an aim to establish joint or collective financing. ICD also applies financial technology (Fintech) to make financing more efficient and comprehensive. Financial services institutions within ICD’s member countries are benefiting from fintech innovations by using artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, data analytics, and cloud computing services. ICD created a platform based on its relationships with 119 financial institutions, through which, the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG) in general and the institution, in particular, can have access to a concerned country and identify available financing opportunities. The platform allows financial entities to collaborate in identifying investment opportunities, sharing market information, and laying the groundwork for actual financial transactions within the OIC member countries and across borders.