Page 121 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 1

STS419 Liza M. et al.

Use of big data analytics in targeting right
customers for sustainable and social finance
Liza Mydin, Jamal Arif Jamaluddin, Zulfadzli Zaini
Maybank Islamic

Abstract
According to the Islamic perspective, a society can only thrive if all individuals
are given access to resources and equality of opportunity to achieve a decent
standard of living. These individuals become active market participants and
consume, produce or trade and the resulting income gained are considered
justly earned. However Islam ordains for a portion of this income to be
distributed through a “redemption of rights” of those within the population
who are unable to actively participate in earning an income due to the
circumstances of their lives such as disabilities, injuries, illness, disabilities,
bankruptcies or other factors. The redemption of rights of the less abled
members of the society should be operationalised through redistributive risk-
sharing social finance instruments such as zakat (alms-giving), waqf
(endowment), sadaqah (direct payments to the less abled) and qard hassan
(benevolent loan). Advances in the digital landscape can be utilised to develop
sophisticated application of these instruments to address the existing
challenges of poverty, inequality and unjust distribution of income. Big data,
or information generated from digital sources as people go about in their daily
lives has the potential to reveal trends, preferences, struggles and overall well-
being. Making sense of digital data has led to useful insights into the
multifaceted aspects of the human behaviour.
This paper explores how to turn the possibilities of big data analysis into
meaningful means of operationalising sustainable and social finance. It
assesses the landscape in which big data analysis can be helpful in identifying
the Customers of these instruments through addressing the questions of
“Who?”, “Where?” and exactly “What” kind of financial aid is typically needed.
Big data analytics may also be used to decipher the patterns of contributor of
funds where Islamic Financial intermediaries could use this information to
coordinate and promote sustainable and social finance. The purpose of this
study is to paint a picture of the possibilities and challenges in how big data
can be used to highlight priority of needs and sectors for sustainable and
social finance.

Keywords
Islamic Finance; Social Finance; Big Data; Waqf; Financial Inclusion

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