BE370-7-SP-CO:
Financial Technology and Innovation (Fintech)
2024/25
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Spring
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Monday 13 January 2025
Friday 21 March 2025
20
15 July 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
MSC N31012 Corporate and Investment Banking,
MSC N31024 Corporate and Investment Banking,
MSC N3C112 Financial Technology (Finance),
MSC N3C124 Financial Technology (Finance)
Financial technology (FinTech) is rapidly changing the financial services industries. The module introduces FinTech by analysing its impact on major banking and financial activities.
Specifically, the module illustrates the effect of FinTech on lending activities (P2P lending, crowdfunding) and credit evaluation tools (big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence tools), investment activities (trading and robo-advising), payments (crypto currencies and new payment tools), insurance (InsureTech). In final, the module analyses the topic of ethics and regulation of FinTech.
The aims of this module are:
- To provide students with an in-depth understanding of:
- Recent FinTech developments and their impact on the financial services industries;
- Technology innovations, as machine learning, artificial intelligence and blockchain, influencing banking and financial services;
- Developments in payments, as cryptocurrencies and new services;
- Alternative lending technologies tools and new techniques for assessing credit standing;
- Innovative investment services;
- Apply machine learning in robo-advising and FinTech;
- Ethical and regulatory issues in FinTech
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Have a systemic overview of technology innovations and their application in banking and finance
- Comprehend the contribution provided by complex technology advances (as artificial intelligence and machine learning) to the assessment of a borrower’s credit standing
- Accurately and critically evaluate the pros and cons of robo-advising and new investment tools4. Have a sound understanding of cryptocurrencies and new payment services
- Understand the functioning and contribution provided to non-financial corporation alternative lending, as P2P lending, crowdfunding
- Be familiar with Ethical and regulatory issues in FinTech
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills):
- Improve your research skills through the use Google Scholar search platform
- Develop your critical thinking through the use of recent article journals
- Enhance your written communication skills through writing assignment
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- 20 hours of contact time
- comprising 10 lectures
The lectures will amount to 2 hours per week.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non - essential items, please refer to the module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
4,000 word take home assignment |
14/02/2025 |
100% |
| Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
| Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Mr Onur Sefiloglu, email: onur.sefiloglu@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Onur Sefiloglu and Prof Sotirios Kokas
ebspgtad@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
Dr Nikolaos Voukelatos
University of Kent
Senior Lecturer in Finance
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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