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2022/2023  KAN-CCMVV1906U  FinTech Foundations for Finance (online course)

English Title
FinTech Foundations for Finance (online course)

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Robert Kauffman - Department of Digitalisation
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
  • Information technology
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Online teaching
Last updated on 11-02-2022

Relevant links
Learning objectives
The course enables students to appreciate economics, strategy, technology and service operations so they can:
  • Explain the Fintech Revolution’s forces and key technologies making such innovations possible
  • Analyze process disruption, and design new approaches to take advantage of tech innovations
  • Use a business process analysis tool, BizAgi, to represent AS-IS and TO-BE process designs that improve customer centricity, while controlling risk and enhancing profitability through FinTech
  • Evaluate threats from new FinTech entrants and develop approaches that corporate finance, banking, investment, and insurance pros can use to address market changes
  • Analyze FinTech start-ups activities in the creation of next-gen products and services
  • Recognize technical standards, regulatory frameworks, and fundamental patterns of industry change
Course prerequisites
None
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see section 13 of the Programme Regulations): 1
Compulsory home assignments
The student must get approval for 1 out of 2 assignments (A1 or A2) in order to attend the ordinary exam. The compulsory assignments are:

(A1) (Fintech transformation exercise). This is an individual (1) or student-pair (2) mini-case with AS-IS and TO-BE process diagrams and brief explanations. Student feedback is given in a brief assessment memo shared by email to help student to recognize some of the issues that arise in BPMN analysis.

(A2) (Fintech case analysis). A group case analysis should be presented with AS-IS and TO-BE process diagrams produced from the process analysis tool and PPTX slides in an online group video presentation with discussion jn a live online session. The video also must be 15-minute (max) in MP4 format, along with separate PPTX presentation slides used in the video should be uploaded. Group video presentations will be shared with classmates in live online sessions and discussed. Individuals from the group will answer questions posed by other students in the class to ensure engagement and joint learning.

The student will not have extra attempts to get the required number of compulsory activities approved prior to the ordinary exam. If the student has not received approval for the required number of compulsory activities or has been ill, the student cannot participate in ordinary exam. Prior to the retake the student will be given an extra attempt after the term concludes though. The extra attempt is an individual 10 page home assignment that will cover the required compulsory activities. If approved, the student will be able to attend the retake. Please note that students must have made an effort in the allocated assignments throughout the course. Students that have not participated in the assignments (no show/U) are not entitled to the extra assignment and will have to wait until the next ordinary exam to complete the course.
Examination
FinTech Foundations for Finance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Professionals in financial services, corporate finance and finance-related jobs today require knowledge of the digital technology forces that have been creating innovations, disrupting business processes, and transforming financial services industry structure and competition. The result has been newly-emerging practices, altered approaches to financial intermediation, technology-enhanced products, more readily-accessible services, increasing entry from Fintech start-ups, and severe challenges to long-standing industry players and financial markets. This course prepares Finance, Accounting, Operations, Strategy and IT students to navigate the new Fintech Revolution-driven industry landscape that has been created amid these changes. This course emphasizes key technologies (e.g., blockchain, open APIs, platform envelopment, mobile phones and chatbots, AI and machine learning, big data analytics, and regtech innovations) creating the changes. It also considers the processes that are affected (lending, payments, bank funding, risk management, securities trading, remittances, cybersecurity, money laundering, product and service design), and recent developments that reflect changes in how the industry works (disintermediation, platform transformation, technology-based strategic rivalry, reintermediation, regtech developments).
Description of the teaching methods
The following approaches are used: instructor lectures, guest lectures, industry podcasts, and background readings; contemporary Fintech cases, tool-based AS-IS and TO-BE process analyses, and student partners and group case presentations; weekly blended-learning self-study; and other elements as COVID permits (e.g., Fintech start-up guest speakers). Lectures cover basic Fintech knowledge for future Finance professionals. Teaching notes will be shared to support student learning on:(1) theories, frameworks and explanatory approaches with which to interpret the Fintech cases; (2) how to be successful in using BPMN for Fintech case analysis work; (3) how to understand the wat that the course teaching methods support the course learning goals for students; and (4) how to do well in the ordinary final exam. The cases and presentations support student learning about Fintech innovations in real-world organizations and industry markets around the world. Cases and presentations are done in pairs and student groups, require use of a Business Process Modeling (BPMN) 2.0 modeling tool, and encourage Fintech-style redesign of product and service processes. Knowledge of process analysis is delivered with blended-learning methods, involving online study, a BPMN skills-focused exercise assignment A1, along with in-class discussion and feedback. Knowledge of Fintech transformations that occur in the course Fintech cases is delivered through student group work and instructor consultation. Students are asked to prep the readings, view the lectures, listen to the podcasts, prepare A1 and A2, and actively participate in group presentations and discussions. This will allow you to take away useful knowledge for future careers in different aspects of Finance affected by the transformational forces of the Fintech Revolution.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback will be given to students, as they participate in discussions in class (in verbal form), present cases and deliver case study process analysis and innovation interpretations (through instructor and student Q&A, and via structured written rubrics from the instructor), and a graded individual take-home ordinary final exam.
Student workload
Lectures 24 hours
Tool Study and use 8 hours
Cases 24 hours
Class prep 88 hours
Exam 72 hours
Total 216 hours
Expected literature

All materials are subject to annual updates when course starts

Bansal, S., Bruno, P., Hough, G.; Istace, F.; Niederkorn, M. 2015. How the payments industry is being disrupted. McKinsey Qtrly., November.

Brodsky, L., Oakes, L. 2017. Data sharing and open banking. Consulting report, McKinsey, New York, September.

Burtch, G., Hong, Y., Liu, D. 2018. On the role of provision points in online crowdfunding. J. Mgmt. Info. Sys., 35(1), 117-144.

Carlozo, L. 2017. The unstoppable rise of regtech. Podcast, 5:03, BAI Strategies. Available at: www.bai.org/​banking-strategies/​article-detail/​podcast-the-unstoppable-rise-of-regtech.

Clemons, E.K.; Dewan, R.M.; Kauffman, R.J.; Weber, T.A. 2017. Understanding the information-driven transformation of strategy and society. J. Mgmt. Info. Sys., 34, 2, 425–456.

Dhar, V., Stein, R. 2017. Fintech platforms and strategy. Comm. ACM, 60(10), 32–35.

Emerj.com. 2019. The future of banking: AI, fintech, and how banks can survive disruption. Podcast, July 29. Available at: emerj.com/​ai-podcast-interviews/​future-of-banking/​.

Fintech Daily. 2019.  Risks of AI in fintech with Kartik Hosanagar. Podcast, March 15. Available at: https:/​/​www.listennotes.com/​podcasts/​fintech-daily-fintech-daily-hpYNfC9dgtm/​

FIS Global. 2019. Flavors of FAST. Report, Jacksonville, FL.

Gomber, P., Kauffman, R.J., Parker, C., Weber, B.W. 2018. On the fintech revolution: Interpreting the forces of innovation, disruption, and transformation in financial services. J. Mgmt. Info. Sys., 35, 1, 220-265.

Gomber, P., Koch, J., Siering, M. 2017. Digital finance and fintech: Current research and future research directions. Journal of Business Economics, 87, 5, 537–580.

He, D. 2017. Fintech and cross-border payments. Speech for IMF, New York, November 1.

InsideOut.TV. 2013. J.P. Morgan Chase and the London Whale. Video, London, September 23. Available at: https:/​/​www.youtube.com/​watch?v=eFAUrLEb6ts

Jenik, I., Lyman, T., Nava, A. 2017. Crowdfunding and financial inclusion. CGAP 1770, Washington, DC, April.

Larsen, K.S., Gilani, S. 2016. Regtech is the new black: The growth of regtech demand and investment. J. Fin. Transform., 45(6), 22–29.

Mai, F.; Shan, Z.; Bai, Q.; Wang, X.; Chiang, R.H.L. 2018. How does social media impact Bitcoin value? A test of the silent majority hypothesis. J. Mgmt. Info. Sys., 35, 1, 19-52.

McKinsey.com. 2018. Fintech: The disruptive technologies driving start-ups and revolutionizing banking, payments and insurance. Available at: https:/​/​www.mckinsey.com/​featured-insights/​fintech.

Nakamoto, S. 2008. Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Technical paper, October 31. Bitcoin Foundation, Washington, DC.

Squareup.com. 2022. Website for company background: squareup.com/us/en

Staykova, K.; Damsgaard, J. 2015. The race to dominate the mobile payments platform: Entry and expansion strategies. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 14, 5, 319–330.

Underwood, S. 2015. Blockchain beyond bitcoin. Comm. ACM, 59, 11, 15–17.

United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). 2016. Fintech and sustainable development: Assessing the implications. Available at: https:/​/​wedocs.unep.org/​bitstream/​handle/​20.500.11822/​20724/​Fintech_and_
Sustainable_Development_Assessing_the_Implications_Summary.pdf?sequence=1&amp%3BisAllowed=

Zachariadis, M., Ozcan, P. 2017. The API economy and digital transformation in financial services: The case of open banking. Working paper, SWIFT Institute, London, June.
Last updated on 11-02-2022