Over the last 45 years, Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB) has steadily grown its banking, financing and investment businesses in accordance with Islamic guidelines. The corporate governance code it built became the standard in Jordan and one that the central bank has taken to using as a benchmark for peers.

Jordan Kuwait Bank has issued the country’s first green bond, a key milestone for sustainability driven capital investments in the country. But getting momentum going in the sector will be an uphill battle.

Fintech and digital financial services are rushing in to help refugees and migrants access and transfer money, but their innovation isn’t just changing how humanitarian aid agencies operate – it’s also offering solutions for broader financial inclusion challenges.

In the refugee camps of Jordan and Lebanon, life for the many of the 5 million Syrians displaced by civil war somehow goes on. A whole new financial ecosystem is needed to support the amazing resilience and initiative of many of these refugees, who have little prospect of going home. It presents a new challenge for NGOs and they need the help of investors, financial institutions and the private sector. Euromoney visited camps in Jordan and urban areas in Lebanon to talk to aid workers, government and non-government officials and the refugees themselves to find out what role the banking system can play in alleviating the greatest humanitarian challenge of this century.