The Shariah Compliance of Islamic Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending Practices in Indonesia: Identification of Issues and the Way Forward

Abstract

Shariah compliance is an important aspect of all Islamic financial instruments and transactions. With the growth of innovation in the finance industry, Islamic fintech's presence has added players, such as digital platforms, which need to comply with shariah. Therefore, this study aims to examine Islamic Peer-to-Peer (P2P) financing activity implementation as part of the fintech business model. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, a thorough analysis was conducted of digital contract papers, prospectuses, and the positions of parties involved in six Indonesian Islamic fintech companies. This involved analysing the shariah compliant quantitative characteristics of a company's prospectus, with financial reports related to interest, debt, and non-permissible income screening. The shariah compliance implementation is not only the duty of Shariah Supervisory Boards, but also involved all interested parties, namely investors, providers, partners, and business owners/borrowers. The results of the study show that shariah compliance in Islamic P2P platforms has been well enforced, therefore avoiding usury (riba), uncertainty (gharar), and gambling (maysir), while ensuring that businesses are offering halal products. Also, the results are expected to provide insight into shariah compliant fintech and how it can continue to develop in terms of Islamic financial products and services. In addition, this study can become a benchmark in the implementation of shariah compliant fintech products.