August 4, 2015 - Innovate Finance, the membership association for the UK's global FinTech sector, and The Open University, a world leader in part-time learning, have launched the world's first introductory course to financial technology.
The online training course, FinTech 101: Understanding Financial Technologies, offers 50 hours of module-based learning and examines the origins of FinTech and its role in transforming the financial services landscape since the economic crash of 2008.
The course has been developed by The Open University in partnership with Innovate Finance, and draws on the input of Innovate Finance members, It provides examples of the technologies making up this niche ecosystem and how they can help to democratise finance and promote social inclusion, ultimately contributing to the future sustainability of financial services.
The curriculum was shaped with the help of startups including The Real Asset Company, Percentile and Ratesetter and big firms such as Mastercard and Lloyds Bank.
Understanding FinTech and the role it plays to the UK economy is vital for people seeking to build a future career in banking and alternative finance. The value of the industry is estimated to be worth £20 billion pounds to the UK economy - a figure which is expected to increase as more talent and investment pours into the country.
FinTech represents many innovations and many services across sectors and includes everything from mobile payments, crowd funding platforms and peer-to-peer lending to challenger banks and digital currencies. At the heart of all these FinTech innovations is a better understanding of the 21st century customer and the demands for more flexibility and greater choices in finance.
Lawrence Wintermeyer CEO of Innovate Finance said: "The vast and dynamic FinTech landscape must be understood to fully appreciate its impact to economies and societies. We are therefore thrilled that Open University has collaborated with our members to produce a comprehensive course on this subject. FinTech 101 is a great opportunity to learn about the origins of FinTech and the complex factors that have led to its creation and its growing influence in shaping the future of finance."
FinTech101 forms part of The Open University Business School's Executive Education programme, and draws on the expertise of academics working in the finance and research sectors.
Liz Moody, Senior Lecturer, Executive Education at The Open University, said: "FinTech is changing rapidly with new sub-sectors emerging all the time, drawing in new names and organisations taking a customer centric view of financial services.
"The course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview for people either working in or interested in innovating in this space creating products and access to services supported by technology. Our job is to encourage critical thinking in students through learning they can readily apply in their workplace. This course has the rigour of The Open University's world leading learning design behind it and taps into the latest thinking and knowledge of Innovate Finance members."
