FIN 606: FinTech
Contents
This course covers recent technological innovations and the emergence of new players in the financial services industry that both fall under the umbrella term of FinTech. A special focus will be on blockchains and other relevant technologies and their application to decentralized finance, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts. Other introduced innovations include alternative payment systems, crowd finance, InsurTech, and robo advising, while also presenting associated risks and regulatory approaches.
Learning outcomes
After the completion of this course, students will have gained a thorough understanding of the FinTech industry. They will be able to describe its underlying technologies, analyze the industry’s recent developments, recognize associated risks, and explain its impact on the more traditional financial services industry.
Necessary prerequisites
None
Recommended prerequisites
Basic knowledge of finance (e.g. present value methods, portfolio theory, equilibrium models, derivatives, trading, banking), mathematics (analysis, optimization) and statistics (e.g. mean, variance, correlation, and multivariate regression).
| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 SWS | 9 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 4 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 120h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | Written exam (closed book, 60 min.) |
| Restricted admission | no |
| Further information | – |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Dr. Stefan Scharnowski Dr. Stefan Scharnowski |
| Frequency of offering | Fall semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | M.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. Bus. Edu., M.Sc. Econ., M.Sc. Bus. Inf., M.Sc. Bus. Math. |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Program-specific Competency Goals | CG 1 |
| Literature | A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course. Starting references: Das, S. R. (2019). The future of fintech. Financial Management, 48(4), 981–1007. Thakor, A. V. (2020). Fintech and banking: What do we know?. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 41, 100833. Philippon, T. (2016). The fintech opportunity (No. w22476). National Bureau of Economic Research. Special Issue of the Review of Financial Studies: To FinTech and Beyond. Volume 32, Issue 5, May 2019 Satoshi Nakamoto (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Whitepaper. |
| Course outline | A detailed syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course. Preliminary outline: What even is FinTech? The Tech in FinTech Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies Payments, Banking, and Investing Crowd Finance and Social Trading InsurTech RegTech and Regulating FinTech |