S. FinTech Innovation & the Transformation of Financial Services: Business Models, Regulatory Structures & Policy Issues

This course will focus on the so-called "FinTech Revolution" which is transforming traditional banking and financial services.

FinTech generally refers to disruptive financial sector innovations involving technology-enabled (online and mobile device-based) business models. Independent FinTech businesses can facilitate disintermediation, create and deliver novel products and services, increase access and inclusivity, reduce costs and both create and address privacy, regulatory and law-enforcement challenges. FinTech can also refer to the increasingly technological approaches that both incumbents and entrepreneurial ventures take to the main financial intermediation functions, e.g., maturity transformation, payments, capital raising and remittances, and to "back end" data systems and regulatory compliance.

The goal of the course will be for students to understand the major categories of FinTech innovation in the U.S., the evolving business models and regulatory and legal structures that underlie these categories, and the opportunities and risks that emerging FinTech business models, including crypto currency and blockchain, pose for U.S. financial, legal and regulatory systems. Non-U.S. examples will be used to compare and contrast different approaches to key policy issues.

We will frequently have guests from the industry in class to participate in discussion.

There will be several group and individual assignments during the semester and a final longer assignment. The method of evalutation for the course will be as follows: Class participation: 30%. Class assignments: 30%. Final assignment: 40%

This course will be instructed by a Senior Fellow of the Richman Center for Business, Law & Public Policy, Todd H. Baker. https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/richman/todd-baker