About
The Global Islamic Finance Innovation Awards 2026, organised by The Digital Banker,
exists to honour and celebrate preeminent and groundbreaking Islamic financial institutions and their distinguished individuals’ contribution across the global banking landscape.
We welcome you to participate in the program and showcase how your institution uses innovation to build ethical, Shariah-aligned banking that truly reflects interest-free principles and shared profit, loss, and risk.
The Digital Banker awards are accolades of excellence and distinction, attributed to outstanding players – they provide objective benchmarks for the global and regional banking industry. This program celebrates leading Islamic financial institutions that are setting new standards, driving digital transformation, and delivering consistent, Shariah-compliant banking experiences for a diverse set of customers.
What's New This Year?
Recognising the changing priorities of Islamic finance, The Digital Banker has expanded the 2026 awards program to include two new categories – Sustainability & ESG Awards and Risk & Cybersecurity Awards. The Digital Banker has also bolstered its People & Organisation Awards category by incorporating new talent and leadership awards to celebrate the individuals driving this industry forward.
Together, these additions shine a spotlight on institutions redefining Islamic finance, building stronger digital defences, and nurturing exceptional leaders in this space.
Submissions Close In
2025 Awards Highlights
Why Nominate?
Islamic finance has experienced a period of significant growth and transformation in recent years driven by a combination of factors, which include robust commodity prices, strong economic growth in core markets, and genuine investor demand with total assets reaching approximately USD 2 trillion. The resilience of Islamic finance against global headwinds is noteworthy, with Shariah-compliant assets consistently outperforming their conventional counterparts.
Moreover, the Islamic finance industry is positioning itself towards for further growth, with advancements in standardisation of contracts and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values, reinforcing the industry's commitment to both sustainable development and ethical and responsible investing. In addition, stakeholders in various jurisdictions are proactively encouraging the development of Islamic finance to improve financial inclusion, recognising this sector’s potential to contribute to economic development.
Clearly, the global Islamic finance landscape remains resilient and dynamic, poised for further growth as it further integrates into the global financial system, while pioneering the development of Shariah-based financial products and services. Institutions are also creating better customer journeys, improving operations, and digitising core functions to serve clients more effectively and grow their business while staying aligned with Shariah principles.
Who Can Apply?
The Global Islamic Finance Innovation Awards program is open to all participants within the Islamic finance ecosystem across numerous lines of business. We invite nominations from Islamic retail banks, Islamic SME banks, Islamic wealth managers, Islamic transaction banks, Islamic fintech companies, Islamic asset managers, Takaful operators, technology solution providers and vendors.
If your organisation and/or professionals are redefining Shariah-based finance with bold ideas and breakthrough innovation, this is your moment. We invite you to put your best forward – submit your nominations for the 2026 edition of the awards today.
Past Winners
- 2026
- 2025
- 2024
Best Islamic Retail Bank - Sri Lanka
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank - United Arab Emirates
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank - Sri Lanka
Highly Acclaimed
Best Customer Centric Business Model
Winner
Best Islamic Neo/Challenger Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Fund of the Year – Absolute Return in 2025
Winner
Best Islamic Fund of the Year – Risk Adjusted Return in 2025
Winner
Best Sukuk Fund
Winner
Best Emerging Innovation - Islamic Product Launch of the Year
Winner
Best Islamic Consumer Finance Product of the Year
Winner
Best Islamic Savings Account of the Year
Winner
Islamic Credit Card of Year - United Arab Emirates
Winner
Best Islamic Loan Offering of the Year - Australia
Winner
Best Islamic Digital Wealth Platform
Winner
Best Mobile App for Islamic Wealth Management
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank - Middle East
Winner
Outstanding Staff Training, Learning & Development Program
Winner
Islamic Banker of the Year
Winner
Outstanding Advancement in Islamic Banking
Winner
Islamic Finance CEO of the Year Ibrahim Ali Al Mheiri
Winner
Most Improved Islamic Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Transaction Bank - Malaysia
Winner
Best Islamic Asset/Fund Manager - Pakistan
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Cooperative - Non-Banking Financial Institutions - Malyasia
Winner
Best Domestic Islamic Retail Bank - UAE
Winner
Best Islamic Digital Bank - UAE
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank - UAE
Winner
Best Islamic Investment Bank - UAE
Winner
Best Digital Islamic Financing Product of the Year - By a Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Bank for Frictionless Banking
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Cooperative - Non-Banking Financial Institutions
Winner
Best Islamic Digital Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Investment Bank
Winner
Sukuk Deal of The Year
Winner
Best Sukuk Adviser of the Year
Winner
Best Islamic Savings Account of the Year
Winner
Islamic Debit Card of the Year
Winner
Best New Islamic Product Launch of the Year
Winner
Islamic Credit Card of Year
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Inclusive Initiative
Winner
Best Mobile Banking Initiative – Islamic
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Inclusion Initiative
Winner
Best Mobile Banking Initiative – Islamic
Winner
Islamic Banker of the Year
Winner
Islamic Finance CEO of the Year
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Cooperative - Non-Banking Financial Institutions - South Asia
Winner
Best Islamic Digital Bank - Middle East
Highly Acclaimed
Best Islamic Retail Bank - Middle East
Winner
Best Islamic Investment Bank - Middle East
Winner
Best AI Initiative
Winner
Best Gen AI Initiative
Winner
Best Digital Islamic Banking Initiative
Winner
Best Digital Transformation Program
Winner
Excellence in Digital Innovation
Winner
Outstanding Client Onboarding & Account Opening
Winner
Best RPA Initiative
Winner
Best API Initiative
Winner
Best Technology Implementation by an Islamic Bank
Winner
Best Islamic Savings Account of the Year
Winner
Best New Islamic Product Launch of the Year
Winner
Best Islamic Microfinance Product of the Year
Winner
Islamic Credit Card of Year
Winner
Islamic Debit Card of the Year
Winner
Islamic Debit Card of the Year
Winner
Best Customer Centric Business Model
Winner
Best Internet Banking Initiative – Islamic
Winner
Best Islamic Bank for Gen-Z
Winner
Best Islamic Financial Inclusion Initiative
Winner
Best New Islamic Wealth Management Product of the Year
Winner
Market Leadership in Islamic Finance
Winner
Best Islamic Finance Technology Solutions Provider
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank – Bangladesh
Winner
Best Islamic Retail Bank – United Arab Emirates
Winner
Best Islamic Wealth Manager – Indonesia
Winner
Judges
Olivia Jeavons
Senior Manager, Financial Services Strategy and Consulting
Accenture
Asad Ahmed
Managing Director
Alvarez & Marsal Middle East
Manfredi de'Mozzi
Senior Partner, EMEA head of SME Banking and Corporate Banking sectors and SEE head of Financial Services practice.
Bain & Company
Jeff Tijssen
Partner, London
Bain & Company
Zeeshan Khwaja
Partner
Kearney
Ben Kilpatrick
Partner, Banking & Capital Markets Consulting
KPMG Australia
Nick Cowell
Strategy Leader for Banking
Monitor Deloitte
Nontobeko Lubisi
Director: Financial Inclusion
Simon-Kucher
National Treasury (RSA)
Joshua Koh
Partner
Simon-Kucher
Corry Mccruden
Winners Case Study
Do I Have to Submit a Nomination?
All awards participants are required to submit nominations through The Digital Banker’s online submission portal. The portal is where you will find the questions that need to be answered in order to be considered in the current year’s program. Institutions will be unable to participate in our awards programs without a fully complete submission(s).