In the context of this workshop, “Fintech” refers to the use of technology for delivering financial services, specifically through Internet-based crowdfunding platforms and mobile payment systems. The workshop will explore how Islamic finance stakeholders and regional financial institutions in the GCC are viewing developments in Fintech, and whether they are planning to integrate them into their business models. Potential areas where Fintech is likely to have an impact, especially from a GCC standpoint, are Remittances, Insurance, Investment Advisory and Online Trading. Fintech have already made their presence felt in these areas across the globe, with innovations such as digital remittances, roboadvisors, algorithmic trading, and Peer 2P insurance platforms. Surprisingly Islamic financial sector, one of the most prominent sector in GCC, is yet to embrace Fintech in full force as compared to rest of the world. In the coming years, demand from consumers (mostly millennials) is expected to give rise to faster adoption of these technologies across various verticals in banking and financial sector. Fintech and usage of digital currency is gaining a lot of support from regulators across the GCC region. The governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), noted that the smart use of technology is a game-changer in banking, just as in other aspects of daily life. The governor further emphasized that “Technology has made it possible to access more customers, in a more comprehensive way, at a lower cost, than in the past and Islamic banks must make full use of these technological enhancements and invest more in this space.” Fintech is also gaining support from Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority where all the 12 banks operating in Saudi Arabia offer Shariah-compliant finance are also looking forward to embracing the usage of fintech in its financial operation. EY report of 2016 noted that the introduction of FinTech will increase the Islamic finance customer base, from 100 million today, to 250 million by 2020. The question that remains, however, is how regulators and regulatory regimes can adapt to promote the benefits of Fintech while protecting against potential abuses of Fintech as well as its unintended consequences. Although a contentious issue, some people perceive non-banking financial intermediation via FinTech as an opportunity for re-aligning Islamic finance to become more “authentic”. For Islamic stakeholders, the new technological modes of finance indeed bring up interesting shariah issues. 3 This workshop thus will provide an opportunity to bring studies relating to the current issues related to fintech adoption and future development for the GCC Islamic finance industry to the fore and, more importantly, will contribute to the literature on different aspects of technological transformation in the GCC region. Considering that limited academic material is available currently, this will be important in disseminating knowledge on the GCC fintech and digital currency industry. Publishing an edited volume with the selected papers presented at the workshop will create an important handbook and reference material for academics, professionals and policymakers.