Aims:

This module aims to:

Develop students’ ability to think critically about the role of policy/regulation in finance.
	Enable students to relate to and investigate real-world examples of issues that regulators and policymakers face using case studies
	Enhance students’ understanding of landmark regulatory and policy interventions with a focus on cryptocurrencies/assets and AI.
	Show the importance of a regulatory/legal framework in the development of FinTech.
Learning outcomes:

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

Understand the complexity of the main legal issues (e.g., security regulation, privacy policy) related to FinTech—from cryptocurrencies to AI.
	Evaluate the impact that technologies have on society as we move into this new digital transformation with a focus on the financial sector.
	Apply legal terminology and concepts in the analysis of regulatory policy decisions.
	Analyse the strengths and weaknesses in current FinTech regulatory frameworks in major jurisdictions.
	Create new policy and regulatory recommendations for current technologies related to FinTech.
Content:

New emerging digital technologies are rapidly changing the face of the financial services industry, often led by new innovative start-ups and technology companies. Often the products that these organisations create have fast and wide scale impact and do not fit into current regulatory and policy regimes. This module seeks to provide an understanding of how regulators and governments should react to these new technologies and financial products, ensuring safe innovation whilst not stifling it.

The module begins with looking at general financial regulation and technology policy, before examining AI’s and blockchain’s impact in this dimension in depth. The course will also cover ethical aspects, regulatory frameworks and cover the approaches used for regulation and policy in major jurisdictions around the world.

Requisites:

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