Aims

The aim of this module is to teach about how innovation occurs in the financial services landscape through fintech. Students will gain a broad understanding of business models, products and infrastructure in the financial services domain, as well how emerging technologies are being utilised. Students will gain knowledge on how players in the ecosystem innovate, what holds innovation back and what encourages it and the strategies that various players exploit to gain advantages.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the module, a student will be able to:

Map out and explore the Fintech ecosystem and understand what/who the drivers of change and innovation are (including start-ups, traditional financial institutions, investors, consumers, technology companies and the regulator).
	Understand how fintech start-ups are disrupting incumbent players and traditional financial infrastructure through either better business models (and economics) or through utilising emerging technologies.
	Know how legacy technology hinders incumbent players and what strategies they have available and tools that incumbent firms use to innovate (i.e. Innovation labs, corporate accelerators etc).
	Analyse and develop strategic recommendations for a fintech disruption or innovation through utilising taught innovation, business model and strategy frameworks.
Content:

This module aims to provide insights into the fintech revolution, including the nature of disruption, innovation opportunities and strategic options for start-ups, technology companies and incumbents. As well as covering a broad introduction to the financial services landscape, business models and products, we explore the evolution of money and payments systems before moving onto how emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning and cloud computing are making financial services more efficient, secure and transparent. Students will be equipped with an understanding of how innovation takes place in the financial services sector, and what strategies various players in the ecosystem use to succeed.

Requisites:

To be eligible to select this module as an optional or elective, a student must be registered on a programme and year of study for which it is a formally available.