Islamic interbroker Eiger Trading Advisors has adopted a new digital solution by Connectif Technologies to optimize efficiency as part of its growth strategy, IFN has learned.
Eiger, regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, will be utilizing Connectif’s iWAVE platform which unifies processes across the entire transaction life cycle, improving efficiencies in areas such as agreement negotiation, Know-Your-Customer (KYC) management, trade execution and post-trade processing. All Islamic deposits and financing products will be transacted in real-time without compromising Shariah integrity.
It is understood that Eiger, which specializes in brokerage and trade facilitation services for the Islamic financial market, will begin by using the Master Agreements and KYC Management module of iWAVE.
“We believe our iWAVE solution enables banks to benefit from the efficiencies it brings across both the whole transaction life cycle and across multiple financial products including Wakalah and Murabahah both locally within an organization and across the market as a whole. These benefits range from price transparency on transactions, STP [straight-through-processing] across the transaction life cycle, through to secure communication and exchange of documentation which all lead to more simplified and timely processes whilst ensuring Shariah compliance, reduced costs and enhanced profitability,” explains David Potter, the managing director of Connectif.
The UK is home to at least 27 fintech companies offering Shariah compliant solutions, more than any other country in the world, according to the IFN Islamic Fintech Landscape as at the end of October 2020. Its thriving start-up environment and progress made in the Islamic fintech segment are seen as key to the UK’s next chapter of Islamic finance growth.
“Given that the UK has a large existing fintech sector already, it was inevitable that we would start to see growth in the UK Islamic fintech sector as we are now, and therefore it was natural for Connectif to work with a local firm that we already know well,” Potter shares. “However, I think any cooperation between firms regardless of where they are based should be seen as a positive, as it can only help to help drive the fintech agenda across the Islamic finance industry as a whole. I hope and believe other firms will begin to collaborate and I am sure they already are in many areas. The work you do at IFN through your IFNfintech landscape initiative is I think a great help in pushing this forward.”
The adoption of iWAVE is the start of a relationship between Eiger and Connectif which will likely culminate in other initiatives. Both the Islamic fintech companies have confirmed that they are examining other areas of collaboration, particularly initiatives designed to add value to the commodity Murabahah market.