Fintech Regulation and Data Protection

Aims

This module elaborates on how financial regulation seeks to protect consumers and markets, via looking at the rationales for regulation, national and international organisational structures, and approaches to regulation. Considering that Fintech is a broad term that covers a wide variety of products and services, the course will illustrate how these new financial technologies are subject to regulation by different regulators and in different ways. Students will explore how regulators are engaging pro-actively with Fintech developers to encourage innovation and provide advice on compliance with regulation. Additionally, the module will consider how financial and Fintech firms collect and manage data, the role of data monetisation in Fintech business models, and the challenges presented by the General Data Protection Regulation and by cyber-crime. Cyber-security is a key concern today and the module will examine the sources of cyber-vulnerability and the importance of instilling a strong cyber-security culture within an organisation. Overall, the course aims to provide students with a fundamental appreciation of the general rationales for, organisational structures of, and approaches to regulation and how they may interact with new financial technologies.

Learning outcomes

  • To familiarize students with the fundamental rationales for regulation, regulatory structures and approaches in order to appreciate how and why these apply to different financial technologies.
  • To ensure students have an appreciation of the interaction between regulation and innovation in FinTech, through conceptualising the incentives or disincentives for the development on new technologies.
  • Evaluate the issues with the collection and management of user data, both in terms of monetisation, the GDPR and cyber-security.
  • Students will be able to identify and evaluate selected critical and ethical arguments about the appropriate role of artificial intelligence in the legal (LawTech) and FinTech sectors.

Content

  • How financial regulation applies to FinTech.
  • The structure of financial regulation and the role of FinTech.
  • Regulatory arbitrage or RegTech.
  • Monetising data and the General Data Protection Regulation.
  • Fostering cyber-security culture. Potential issues and sources of vulnerability.