Financial innovations in Islamic countries: the road to perdition or salvation?

Purpose
How do financial innovations form and evolve in Islamic countries? How do nature and the organisation of innovation interact? Focussing on retail payment services, this paper aims to analyse recent developments and displays an overview of the status of financial innovation in Islamic countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses six countries as case studies, namely, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE. Comparison within and across those cases helps the author provide explanations of how and why such innovations have worked in particular contexts.
Findings
While cash remains dominant, the author found rapid growth in retail payments, but no consensus on standardisation. Several digital innovations have been introduced and begun to converge. Finally, there seems to be a disconnection between innovations and inclusions.
Originality/value
This research paper is, among the few, related to innovation in financial services in Islamic countries, and can be used to develop appropriate marketing strategies for capturing value in the market.