At the NextGen Islamic Banking 2025 forum, SBP and industry leaders called for regulator–bank–tech partnerships to speed Shariah‑compliant, digital finance.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) senior representatives were also part of a group of commercial banks and technology giants that urged Karachi to engage in greater cooperation, which will accelerate the process of Islamic and digital banking nationwide. In a talk at NextGen Islamic Banking in Pakistan 2025 organized by TMC Pvt. Ltd. and Azentio Software, the players set a plan of action to streamline operations, comply with new regulations, and expedite the complete process of an all-encompassing Islamic transformation.
SBP’s Message: Innovation, Compliance, Inclusion
Director of Islamic Finance Policy Department at SBP, Dr. Zahid ur Rehman Khokher, put it in a simple way: the banking future of Pakistan is in the implementation of innovation, compliance and inclusiveness. He restated the Vision 2025 of SBP, which is a financial ecosystem that is digitally empowered, Shariah-compliant, and accessible. Regulator-bank-technology partnerships are viewed by the State Bank as critical to resiliency, scale and trust among the people.
Standards, Capacity, And Conversion: Lessons from Leaders
The experts pointed out the elements of a contemporary Islamic banking system. Mr. Haroon Tabraze of AAOIFI emphasised on standardisation and capacity building such that the Pakistan would be in line with the global Shariah practice. Rizwan Ata, President & CEO of BankIslami, and Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Meezan Bank, brought out the strategic and operational realities of implementing large-scale Shariah-compliant models as well as data migration, product redesign, Shariah governance and customer education in conversion of the conventional to the Islamic bank.
Regulation and Innovation Must Move Together
A discussion board named Future-Ready Islamic Banking: Shariah Compliance, Growth and Digital Innovation moderated by Prof. Dr. Mufti Hassan Usmani brought together some of the most prominent Shariah scholars and industry executives: Dr. Mufti Irshad Ahmed Aijaz (BankIslami), Mufti Abdullah Najeeb Siddiqui (Al Baraka Bank), Mufti Muhammad Hassaan Kaleem (Dubai Islamic Bank), and Faraz Younus Bandukda (Al Hilal Shariah Advisors The group came to the consensus that digital tools and Shariah principles need to develop in parallel: the consent-based use of data and audit trails to the AI-assisted screening, which complies with Shariah principles. They underlined that compliance is an enabler rather than a bottleneck of growth.
TMC–Azentio Partnership: Tech with Local Depth
Another strategic alliance between TMC and Azentio was the forum, which was aimed at assisting institutions in modernisation at a faster rate. Azentio shall offer an Islamic core banking suite, AML and compliance tooling, digital lending and automation, whereas TMC will offer on-the-ground experience and implementation services. The leaders Abdul Haseeb (TMC) and Sanjay Singh (Azentio) emphasized that the regulator-bank-tech enabler collaboration, rather than competition, will allow achieving new scale and customer trust.
What Banks Should Priorities in 2025
- Unified Shariah control: Align product standards on AAOIFI and SBP guidelines; invest in scholar education and systemised approvals.
- Digital onboarding & e-KYC: Friction light, biometrics enabled flows with consent records; support NADRA where allowed.
- Compostable core and APIs: Invest in wallets, micro-savings, and embedded finance modular and cloud-ready cores with open APIs.
- AML/TF analytics: Risk‑based monitoring with explainable AI, Arabic/Urdu name screening, and auditable model governance.
- Resilience to operations: Digital channel cyber controls, disaster recovery and Shariah-compliant business continuity.
- Financial inclusion: Shariah-compliant microfinance, women- oriented products and MSME supply-chain finance.
Customer‑First Transformation: Design for Trust
According to speakers, the success of digital Islamic banking depends on the clear, fair, and value-oriented products. The areas of priority are open disclosures of profit sharing, mobile journeys that are easy to use in Urdu and local languages, and quick dispute resolution. A high level of confidence can be enhanced by incorporation of Shariah compliance certificates within applications and statements. Banks must also establish two-way feedback to identify customer pain points and develop rapidly.
Outlook: Align Innovation and Compliance
The discussion ended with an agreement: by aligning innovation to regulation and exchange of best practices among institutions, Pakistan can speed up the Islamic banking process. Having the Vision 2025 of SBP as a north star and the TMC-Azentio alliance broadening the scope of implementation, the industry is set to provide secure, inclusive, and Shariah-faithful digital services. The coming 12 months will put into practice execution -on standards harmonisation, core modernisation, and human-capital upgrades throughout the industry.
