HelloGold Named Best Islamic Wealth Management Fintech Company at WIFA
Singapore/Bahrain, 26th Nov – Fintech savings platform HelloGold garnered the Best Islamic Wealth Management Fintech Company award at the World Islamic Fintech Awards. HelloGold was recognized for its digital applications facilitating financial planning, budgeting and/or savings based on Islamic principles. HelloGold is a fintech savings platform providing easy access to investment grade gold, which allows users to save gold from as little as 25 cents, using a mobile app.
WIFA finalists were evaluated by a panel of international judges comprising industry experts, investors, stakeholders and influencers for scoring process. After weeks of screenings, discussions and deliberations, WIFA honored deserving fintech providers in the Islamic finance space for their outstanding work in driving Shariah compliant financial services through disruptive and collaborative technologies.
The inaugural WIFA Best Islamic Wealth Management Fintech Company was awarded to HelloGold from a pool of submissions dominated by digital financial planning and budget applications. HelloGold’s unique proposition as a provider of a Shariah compliant asset-backed saving solutions was its competitive advantage.
“Receiving this award from WIFA is a testament to our efforts in democratizing asset-based savings and lending products for the underserved and the unbanked in emerging markets and in Islamic Finance. HelloGold uses blockchain technology to enable our customers to access affordable financial products and services starting with gold”, HelloGold’s CEO, Robin Lee said.
With various achievements and accolades, 2018 has been a defining year for HelloGold. The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards nominated HelloGold for the Best Fintech Startup in Malaysia. It was also selected to be part of SuperCharger Malaysia and D-NEXT Thailand in 2018 . In recognition of its commitment to financial inclusion and the positive impact on families and economies, HelloGold was recognised at the World Economic Forum ASEAN 2018.
In April 2017, HelloGold launched the fintech savings HelloGold app which is now available on Android and iOS in English, Chinese and Malay. It is the world’s first Sharia-compliant app that digitizes the entire gold saving process for people to overcome financial challenges that are prevalent in emerging markets. It allows individuals to purchase gold through a mobile application, for as low as RM1 (24 US cents), underscoring affordability and accessibility of financial products through digitization.
HelloGold platform is a prime example of the democratization of financial services through technology. As the first digital start-up to have its gold product certified Shariah compliant in December 2016 according to AAOIFI’s Shariah standard on gold, the company has been in growth mode since inception.
Earlier this year, HelloGold also launched GOLDX, a fully operational Sharia compliant Ethereum ERC20 token representing ownership of fully allocated investment grade gold on the blockchain.
HelloGold has expanded its customer base to over 33,000 and has grown its team by five-fold. The fintech is now also looking at other commodities and asset classes beyond gold to diversify saving options for users.
About HelloGold
HelloGold believes that the amount of money people have in their wallet should not be a barrier to their ability to access financial products that they need. Yet, today too many basic financial products and services remain unaffordable and inaccessible for too many people. For us at HelloGold, our mission is to democratise asset-based savings and lending products for the underserved and the unbanked in the emerging markets through digitization.
HelloGold launched a Sharia-compliant platform in Malaysia in April 2017, with gold as its first financial product. HelloGold is now preparing for market expansion in Asia and MENA and also planning product/service extension. HelloGold’s platform is built on blockchain technology with the aim of providing better security and greater transparency of customer records and transactions.
HelloGold has received several awards in its short history, including the Most Innovative Islamic Product Award, TechMatch ASEAN, and Prominent in Wealth, Asset & Investment Management of the Year. We made our start with gold. But we will be much more than gold.
About IFN (Islamic Finance News)
IFN is REDmoney Group’s principal publication. IFN is a digital, subscription-based publication available online through smartphone and tablet applications. Published weekly, the journal provides exclusive and comprehensive coverage of the global Islamic financial markets through in-house analysis and expert external contributions.
The World Islamic Fintech Awards (WIFA) honor exceptional and deserving fintech providers in the Islamic finance space for their outstanding work in driving Shariah compliant financial services through disruptive and collaborative technologies.