LAW4546 · Fintech and the law

Overview

The phenomenal global growth of financial technology, or ‘Fintech’, presents a range of complex legal and regulatory challenges. In particular, policymakers and regulators must decide whether to manage these developments within existing regulatory frameworks, or develop something completely new. This unit will examine the role of law and regulation at the intersection of finance and emerging technologies, such as: contactless payments, digital banks, open banking, ICO/STO, stablecoins, DeFi, CBDC, RegTech and BigTech. Furthermore, the unit will explore conventional, as well as novel regulatory mechanisms, such as regulatory sandbox, digital regulatory reporting, cross-sector regulatory coordination, and data empowerment enabled by digital identity solutions.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Demonstrate understanding of the role of law and regulation in the age of fintech, including key regulators in major fintech ecosystems around the world;
2. Identify primary fintech innovations and their possible applications;
3. Evaluate principal legal and regulatory issues concerning fintech, either domestically or globally;
4. Conduct analysis of regulatory developments in major fintech ecosystems;
5. Collaborate with peers in order to communicate on fintech regulatory issues to a range of audiences.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.