FIN 606 – FinTech
General Information
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, AI in finance, 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.
Further Information
Course Outline
This is just a preliminary outline. A detailed syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course.
- What even is FinTech?
- The Tech in FinTech
- Payments, Banking, and Investing
- Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies
- Crowd Finance and Social Trading
- InsurTech (if time permits)
You will find the lecture slides and additional material on Ilias.
Time & Venue
In the fall semester 2024, the course takes place every Tuesday from 8:30am to 10:00am in M003.
The first lecture is on September 3rd.
Language
The course is taught in English. All materials and the exam will be in English.
Assessment
There will be a final written exam that makes up 100% of the final grade. The date of the exam review will be announce on the chair's website in the news section.
Requirements
The course generally assumes some 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).
Faculty
Dr. Stefan Scharnowski (he/him)
Business School
L 9, 1–2 – Room 201
68161 Mannheim
Fax: +49 621 181-1519
E-mail: scharnowskiuni-mannheim.de
Web: Personal Website
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3755-1821
by appointment