Exploring the development of Islamic fintech ecosystem in Indonesia: a text analytics

Abstract

Purpose This study aims at two objectives, i.e. first, to identify the core elements of the Islamic fintech ecosystem, and second, to use the identified core elements to analyse the development of such an ecosystem in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This work combines data analytics of text mining with qualitative analysis of human intelligence in two steps. First, knowledge discovery of the Islamic fintech ecosystem’s core elements using a sample of eight academic articles totalling 102 pages and 75,082 words. Second, using the identified core elements from step one to explore such ecosystem development in Indonesia. This stage employs a sample of 11 documents totalling 371 pages and 143,032 words from cyberspace. Findings The core elements of the Islamic fintech ecosystem identified are financial customers, fintech startups, government, technology developers, traditional financial institutions and fatwa (Islamic legal opinion). Furthermore, the development of the Islamic fintech ecosystem in Indonesia is examined under these identified core elements, providing critical insights into the Islamic fintech ecosystem currently established in the country's industry. Research limitations/implications This study primarily used semi-structured data from cyberspace. Traditional approaches to qualitative data collection, e.g. focused group discussions and interviews, may be beneficial for future studies in addressing the Islamic fintech ecosystem issues. Practical implications Academia worldwide may benefit from this work in incorporating knowledge of Islamic fintech ecosystem’s core elements into Islamic finance literature. Specifically, fintech stakeholders in Indonesia may be advantaged to understand how far the Islamic fintech ecosystem has grown in the country. Social implications The rise of unethical fintech peer-to-peer lending shows social problems in Indonesia’s fintech industry. The finding derives social implications that elucidate the current state of the country’s Islamic fintech ecosystem. Originality/value Using a kind of big data (i.e. semi-structured text data) from cyberspace and applying steps of text mining combined with qualitative analysis, may contribute to the creation of novelties for qualitative research on financial issues.