Global Islamic Fintech Summit (GIFS) 2022 took place on 21 March 2022 in Istanbul, Türkiye with the participation of private, public and international sectors.

The event is attended by several industries from prevailing bodies, as well as leading corporations, financial institutions, academics, regulators, and government representatives. In addition, GIFS 2022 attracted attendance by data and Fintech solutions providers, while focusing on advancement and comprehending that technology remains a key to the future.

The first Islamic Fintech Forum in Turkey had been held in 2018, organized by ADFIMI to promote and uplift Islamic Fintech in Turkiye. The GIFS 2022 focused on featuring a wide range of programs, including business exchange, and customized panels.

During the Global Islamic Fintech Summit 2022, ADFIMI organized a special panel on “Gold as an Alternative Payment Method”. Panelists were ADFIMI Chairman and Ziraat Partcipation Bankl CEO Mr. Metin Ozdemir and Mr. Sait Ozgel Zekeriya, Director of Payment and Transfer Services Department, TAKASBANK of Türkiye.

ADFIMI Chairman Mr Metin Özdemir stated “Nowadays, throughout in its historical period of time “the gold” is determined as an “investment” method. Today we are not talking about making gold the only currency. We are talking about accepting it as one of the methods of payment. Why, it is possible as an alternative payment model or system especially for international trade. Today all the countries and banks still have gold reserves because we know that gold does not have credit risk or counterparty risk which makes it the most important asset to have in the reserves.”

ADFIMI Chairman Mr Metin Özdemir further continued “The current financial system cannot meet the needs in an environment of political and economic uncertainty. It has bottlenecks for underdeveloped and developing countries. Even trade relations between neighboring countries are hindered. Countries that are aware of this are in search of new ones. Methods such as shopping with regional associations, new payment systems and national currencies are being tried. The gold-based digital currency is one of these methods. I think this will be realized together with the strong economies of the world…”