Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to level up your understanding of Fintech with some greatly discounted online courses. Same added value, simply a higher return on your investment – the business case for it screams! To help you take full advantage of it, we have gathered the best Black Friday deals to learn Fintech online this 2021. Some of them run for the whole weekend!

The best Black Friday deals to learn Fintech in 2021

1. CFTE Fintech Foundation Specialisation: 25% off

The Fintech Foundation Specialisation is an introductory programme to learn about Fintech and digital finance from the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE). It targets finance professionals, entrepreneurs, and technologists. It has been designed in collaboration with 4 senior lecturers and 16 industry experts from across finance, to give a comprehensive breakdown of main Fintech trends in a simple and concise manner. The programme consists of 4 different courses.

CFTE offers Corporate Training for teams with the Fintech program.

Advantages:

• Taught in an easy-to-digest manner by 4 senior Fintech lecturers who between them have lectured at Singapore Management University, Imperial College London, Oxford University and The University of Hong Kong.
• Industry insights from 16 top experts working in Fintech, including the Global Head of Bank Research at Citi, Global Head of Innovation at HSBC, CEO of Ping An Technology, and many more
• Accreditation from the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF)  and SkillFuture in Singapore. Singaporean candidates may benefit from subsidies provided by IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS). Also accredited by CPD in the UK and by the ACT.
• Be part of a global community of over 70,000 professionals and entrepreneurs
• Events to network and free online lessons with key people in FinTech to stay updated

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Certificate: CPD Accredited Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/Method:

• Course length: 12 hours 
• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: 6 months access to content from the start date
• Course Model: Instructor-Led

Regular Cost: £360 or 3 payments of £120

Black Friday Deal:This course and all other programmes at CFTE have a 25% off running through Black Friday all the way to Cyber Monday on CFTE’s website – 4 days of discounts!

2. CFTE AI in Finance: save £150!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the main drivers of the financial industry’s digital transformation. Whether you are looking to immediately implement your AI knowledge in your career or simply want to stand out in a competitive job market, this programme is for you.

With 4 short courses, in 5-weeks you will be equipped with all you need to know to start leading AI-based projects to boost your professional profile. Learn to define common AI terminologies, spot potential business opportunities and discover what AI realistically can and cannot do.

The course is fully online and self-paced, and you will be guided by 20+ industry leaders from companies like UBS, Citi, ADDO AI, IO Tahoe and PingAn Technology. You will learn industry-relevant knowledge and be equipped with the fundamentals of AI integration in the finance sector.

Advantages:

• Taught in an easy-to-digest manner. 
• Accreditation from SkillFuture in Singapore. Singaporean candidates may benefit from subsidies provided by IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS). Also accredited by CPD in the UK and by the ACT.
• Be part of a global community of over 70,000 professionals and entrepreneurs
• Events to network and free online lessons with key people in FinTech to stay updated

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Certificate: CPD Accredited Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/Method:

• Course length: 15 hours 
• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: 6 months access to content from the start date
• Course Model: Instructor-Led

Regular Cost: £600 or 3 payments of £200

Black Friday Deal: This course has been dropped to £450 and all other programmes at CFTE have a 25% off running through Black Friday all the way to Cyber Monday on their website – 4 days of discounts!

3. Udemy: What is Fintech? Learn the skills of FinTech today : 90%off!

This course focuses on giving you the right foundation to understand the world of FinTech. There are over 100 concepts that fall under the domain of Fintech, from Artificial Intelligence to robo-advisors and Blockchain to virtual banks. 

In the last 10 years, $200bn has been invested in Fintech startups. Alibaba launched the largest money market fund in the world. Goldman Sachs developed its own digital bank. Stripe became bigger than 99% of the banks. This course is meant for learners aspiring to learn more about FinTech and is taught by Huy Nguyen Trieu, co-founder of CFTE. He is also the CEO of The Disruptive Group, a business builder and advisory firm in innovation and finance, and Venture Partner at Mundi Ventures, an early-stage VC fund in Fintech and Insurtech.

Level: Beginner

Certificate: Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/ Method:

• Course length: 1 hour
• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: Full Lifetime access
• Course Model: On-demand video

Regular Cost: INR 360

Black Friday Deal: Price has dropped by 90% through November 26!

4. Udemy: FinTech – Prepare for the revolution in Finance: 89% off

This course focuses on how Fintech is transforming the financial industry and how together with regulatory and market changes it is creating a revolution. Taking this course will help the participants understand these latest trends and their impact on the Financial Services industry and get future-ready. This course is for Finance and accounting professionals, Finance and accounting students, Finance and accounting aspirants.

Level: Beginner

Certificate: Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/Method:

• Course length: 3.5 hours
• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: Full Lifetime access
• Course Model: On-demand video

Regular Cost: £49.99

Black Friday Deal: Price has dropped by 89% through November 26!

5. Reed Artificial Intelligence In FinTech: 81% off

This course is designed for those interested to learn the basic concepts related to Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, be familiar with basic concepts of ML and AI and appreciate how they are being used in the Financial Services industry. This course is recommended for anyone who is interested in learning about the application of AI and ML in the financial services industry.

Level: beginner

Certificate: Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/Method:

• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: Unlimited and lifetime access to the course
• Course Model: On demand video

Regular Cost: £157

Black Friday Deal: Price is dropped to £29 until 26th of November, 2021.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn FinTech at a discounted price this Black Friday!

Online Fintech courses are scarce and on many occasions their price can be substantial. However, learning about FinTech is a must if you are to succeed in the future of the finance industry, where digitalisation and technology are already driving innovation and change. Thus, do not waste the opportunity to get the same value for less money this Black Friday and enrol in some Fintech courses at a special price. Remember, same courses, simply a higher return on ROI!

The post The Best Black Friday Deals To Learn Fintech Online this 2021 [Updated] appeared first on CFTE.

In 2019, Monzo hit a total of 2 million customers on its app, growing at over 30,000 account openings a week. However, despite this, critics opine that such growth in the number of Monzo accounts does not call for celebration. After all, it is difficult to ascertain how many of these accounts are actually primary accounts. The app based bank themselves have in fact stated in their annual report that only 30% of their active users deposit at least £1,000 per month.

The trend we hear: There is an increasing adoption of challenger banks’ services, but consumers remain unwilling to rely on them as primary bank accounts

Monzo is not alone. Such a phenomenon can be applied to the rest of the challenger banks as well. According to Propeller Insights, we see around 72% of consumers doing the majority of their banking online. However, as seen in Business Insider, 51% of UK consumers still feel that neobanks are a riskier place to store their money as compared to traditional banks. Furthermore, 41% of them will opt to limit the amount of money that they deposit into a digital bank. 

Therefore, it can be observed that consumers in the UK are more than willing to use the services of digital banks when it comes to smaller daily transactions, but hesitant to rely on them for crucial financial matters, such as the depositing of their salaries. Instead, incumbent retail banks remain the go-to for such matters. This is an issue for concern in challenger banks as the reduced deposit volume arising from the insufficient number of primary accounts in these banks results in lower profit margins. 

CFTE, being an education platform which finds its roots in the UK, was extremely curious on whether such a common sentiment is true. Therefore, we decided to see if such a phenomenon takes place in our own company as well by looking at the sort codes provided by our UK employees for their salary deposits. The results are shown below:

Results

Our findings show that our UK employees use a wide variety of banks as their primary account. Out of the 60 UK employees we have,13 banks were used. Indeed, the majority of CFTE’s UK employees still opt for traditional incumbents (55%), such as Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide, Lloyds, Santander, First Direct, TSB and Halifax. However, it is also noteworthy that the incumbent banks only won by a minimal margin of 10%.

Interestingly, there are actually quite a number of employees who have their salaries deposited into challenger banks (45%), such as Revolut, Monzo, Monese and Starling. Contrary to popular belief, quite a large proportion of our employees are already utilizing challenger banks as their primary accounts.

Of course, these numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt since these CFTE employees are younger than the average and all live in London. Moreover, even if they were not all Fintech aficionados when they joined CFTE, they were certainly more aware of challenger banks than the average. Depending on one’s view, these results could be seen as a canary in a coal mine or just a random fact.

Challenger banks are not so far behind

Challenger banks have already won the hearts of many with the greater convenience that they provide to consumers. While many consumers still may opt to use traditional banks as their primary accounts, challenger banks are also increasingly being adopted as primary accounts as well. Some of the challenger banks today are also being rolled out by the incumbents, with examples including Marcus rolled out by Goldman Sachs and Hello bank! which was launched by BNP Paribas.

To catch up to the incumbent banks, challenger banks now need to work on winning the trust of more consumers. It is particularly imperative that challenger banks ensure that their digital infrastructure —given that they do not have brick and mortar branches like incumbents— are well-secured and free from data breaches. Incidents like the service outages by Chime in 2019 will only further erode the trust that consumers have in neobanks and should be avoided. Furthermore, challenger banks can also look into collaborations with incumbent banks in order to build greater credibility for themselves.

In time to come, should challenger banks be able to build stronger trust with its consumers as well, the high usage of digital banking by UK consumers today shows that they are open and ready to put more of their financial matters in the hands of these neobanks. After all, based on CFTE’s findings, it can be seen that the number of employees using incumbent banks for their primary bank account is only marginally higher than those using challenger banks.

Final food for thought: The definition of a primary bank account is changing

Lastly, in today’s highly saturated finance scene where consumers have the choice of multiple incumbent and challenger banks, CFTE would also like to recognise that the definition of a primary account is no longer merely the bank that one has his/her salary deposited into. It is perfectly imaginable that consumers have multiple bank accounts for different purposes in their lifestyles. Therefore, an account that has your salary paid may simply serve as a transactional account and not one that you use the most for your daily purchases.

In such a changing landscape, both incumbent and challenger banks need to recognise the place that they stand in the lifestyles’ of their consumers and resolve to fill in the gaps in their user journey. Banks who neglect their consumers will eventually be eliminated by the competition as consumers are increasingly spoilt for choice today, desiring for greater personalised banking services. Challenger or incumbent, it seems that ultimately, a bank which understands its consumers will win its consumers over.

If you would like to find out more about challenger banks and how they started thriving, do check out CFTE’s FinTech specialisation. Learn from distinguished lecturers, such as Andrei Kirilenko, Director of the Centre for Global Finance and Technology at Imperial College London, and Janos Barberis, Founder of Supercharger FinTech Accelerator. Through the courses, you will also gain an understanding about the significance of challenger banks and how they distinguish themselves from their incumbent competitors.

For more updates, follow us social media!

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The post Can UK challenger banks ever replace incumbent banks as our primary bank account? appeared first on CFTE.

Challengers arise

A separate panel discussion moderated by Ronit Ghose, was led by Dr. Leda Glyptis, Megan Caywood and Michal Kissos, discussing how opportunities have seen three types of challenger banks appear. The first type is the standalone challenger bank, which are usually FinTech companies streamlining banking services to offer more convenience at a lower cost. Incumbent-led challenger banks are the second type, which are launched within traditional banks through investment in technology. The third type are the BigTech created banks, originating from companies such as Google or Tencent, leveraging on their far-reaching network to quickly acquire users when they branch out into finance.

It is also extremely encouraging to see an all-female panel, highlighting how amazing women in finance are spearheading this change in banking for the better!

Data is key

One of the key takeaways highlighted by Alex Manson of Standard-Chartered is that data is a huge asset, but timing is a big challenge, a notion echoed by Huy, David Robson of IBM and Cristina Alba-Ochoa of OakNorth. Jonathan Larsen, the CIO of Ping An also shared a nugget of wisdom that foresees “a whole raft of new technology that will not only have impact in finance but the whole workforce in the world”. It is only a matter of time before the first leaders in the digital transformation in finance pull away once they have figured how to utilise  data assets efficiently.

AI is helpful, not harmful

Another takeaway from the session was David highlighting how AI is not designed to take away valuable jobs, but only to replace mundane ones which allows more focus in key areas. This also led to another point he brought up, citing the importance of adapting to AI in order to keep up with the pace of change. In order not to be part of the lost generation, he tells others to “dip your toe into AI, build your skills, bring value” and put it into a machine-learning algorithm. This is very much in line with the work of CFTE contributing expert and CEO of Starling Bank, Anne Boden, who described her mission to transform banking forever.

A huge thank you to Citi and Ronit for inviting us to Citi’s Digital Money Symposium, and Megan, Leda, Michal, Vanessa Colella, Annerie Vreugdenhill and Philippe Gelis for sharing their wisdom.

Ronit will also be back at the CFTE Campus, Level39 on Friday, 7 June 2019 to speak about the Citi report of Bank X: The New New Banks. Apart from presenting the report, he will discuss several topics including the future of banking, emergence of new entrants and transformation of the industry with CFTE co-founder, Huy Nguyen Trieu, and the audience.

Join us for an afternoon of learning and networking with the who’s who of London’s Fintech community.

Click here to register for this event.

As always, for the latest developments and events in AI & FinTech, feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletters after the jump below!

About CFTE

We are a platform supported by senior leaders from the largest institutions, startups, and universities. We address the needs of professionals in finance to upskill in a rapidly changing industry being transformed by emerging technologies. More than 50,000 participants learn from our online courses, such as AI in Finance, Fintech Foundation or Extrapreneurship, a mini-MBA with fast-growing startups such as Revolut or Shift Technology.

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The post Why Digital Transformation in Finance is Accelerating appeared first on CFTE.

This year jolted us into a digital sprint, accelerating the adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence and its key arm – machine learning. Developments in the field of AI are bound to significantly transform how we live, work and play as we march into the future.

If you’re wondering how you can enter the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning then you’re not alone, as many professionals are wondering how to enhance their respective industry prospects, including those looking to boost their Fintech careers. In this article, we’ve highlighted the best artificial intelligence and machine learning courses that can help you develop a deeper understanding of the subject and develop your future career.

The fact is, artificial intelligence is transforming every industry from healthcare to entertainment and of course financial services. Innovation in AI is promising a new era of economic growth and in response, the pace of development is accelerating:

• Governments across the globe are investing heavily in AI, the US government has announced a  $1 billion investment to fund AI and quantum computing research as of August 2020, with other countries following suit.

• Companies across the globe are investing heavily in AI too with 64.8% of firms investing more than $50 million in AI in 2020, a percentage significantly greater than 39.7% in 2018.

• The market for AI technologies to reach $190+ by 2025 according to a leading market research firm.

In the midst of such upheaval in policy and macroeconomic trends, The artificial intelligence and machine learning courses outlined below will help you understand the potential of artificial intelligence. The courses explore key areas in machine learning such as artificial neural networks, data analysis, deep learning, python and much more. And the beautiful thing about the courses that we’ve highlighted is that they’re suited for all levels. Whether you just looking for a basic introduction or want to gain an expert level understanding, there’s something for everyone.

CFTE Presents: 8 Best Artificial Intelligence(A.I) and Machine Learning Courses in Finance [2021]

1. CFTE’s online AI in Finance course

Summary: AI in Finance is the first industry led online course on the artifical intelligence revolution, developed by CFTE and Ngee Ann Polytechnic for professionals to understand the applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in financial services. The course follows a similar format to CFTE’s Fintech Specialisation Course.

Over the course of 18 modules and 4 chapters, over 20+ finance and technology thought leaders and industry insiders will discuss key artificial intelligence topics such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), data science, recommendation engines, artificial neural networks (ANN) and more. It’s a knowledge-based course so it’s the perfect platform for those beginning their journey to understanding AI in financial services

Advantages:  

• Learners can join an online community to connect with professionals to continue their learning journey and build the connections that can help to further their career
• Self-Paced Online Course – Suitable for busy professionals
• Industry Led Knowledge – Experts from UBS, Citi, ADDO AI, IO Tahoe, PingAn Technology and many more.
• 6 months access to course content from day of enrolment
• Suitable for those on a budget as course can be bought outright or payments can be split across three months
• Boost your CV and Job Prospects with a SSG, IBF, ACT and CPD Accredited Certificate.

Key lecturers:

• Ayesha Khanna (CEO and Co-Founder – ADDO.AI | Co-Founder – Hybrid Reality Institute | Faculty Advisor – Singularity University)
• Stephan Murer (Ex Global CTO – UBS)
• Philip Watson (Head of Investments Lab and Chief Innovation Officer, Citi)
• Dr. Winne Cheng (Chief Data Scientist, IO Tahoe)
• Jon-Tzen Ng (Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer)

Level: Beginner

Cost: £600 OR £200 for 3 months. 

Certification: SG Accredited Certification

Study Method:

• Online Based Course – Learn at your own schedule and pace.
• 18 structured modules to understand the applications of Artificial Intelligence in Finance.
• 18 Quizzes/Assessments at the end of each module to test your knowledge.
• Video lectures – Course consists of video lectures and video interviews with industry experts.
• Comprehensive readings to compliment content within video lectures.

Want to know more?  Click here for more information.

2. Stanford University, Coursera –  Machine Learning Courses

Summary: This 11-week program from Andrew Ng, the co-founder of Coursera, co-founder of Google Brain and former Chief Scientist at Baidu, is one of the most popular online courses for understanding artificial intelligence and machine learning. This AI course covers a variety of core concepts such as supervised and unsupervised learning, and data mining. The material is learned through a mixture of text-based reading and videos lectures that help to break up study patterns.

Advantage: Flexible coursework which means if a learner misses the deadline they can switch to another session.

Key lecturer:

• Andrew Ng (CEO and Founder – Landing AI | Co-founder, Coursera | Adjunct Professor – Stanford University | Former Chief Scientist – Baidu | Former Founding Lead – Google Brain

Level: Introductory

Cost: Free

Certification: US$79 for grading/certification

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

3. Udacity Machine Learning Nanodegree

Summary: Two three-month programmes that aim to help you “master the skills necessary to become a successful Machine Learning Engineer”. It’s definitely one of the more career-focused programs that we’ve listed and like the Stanford course, covers the core machine learning principles and also dives deeper into the realm of predictive modelling. It’s beginner-focused but expect a vigorous test.

Advantage: The last two out of the nine projects will contribute heavily to your CV and level of job readiness. One-to-one technical mentor available. Also suitable for those on a budget, as access is charged on a monthly basis, making it potentially cheaper if you can complete the course faster.

Key lecturers:

• Cezanna Camacho (Machine Learning Educator)
• Luis Serrano (Former Machine Learning Engineer – Google)
• Dan Romuald Mbanga (Principal Machine Learning Business Development Manager – Amazon Web Services)
• Mat Leonard (Former physicist, research neuroscientist and data scientist)

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Cost: US$399 per month (est. 3 months needed to complete each course)

Certification: N/A

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

4. International Faculty of Finance, IFF – Artificial Intelligence in Banking Training Course

Summary: A two-day training programme which covers Artificial Intelligence in banking by examining current leading practices across the global industry. It offers an in-depth look into the best available practices and how they can be applied in any organisation.

Advantage: Course offers detailed insight into how AI can best suit your burgeoning business through 10 rigorous levels. Also suitable for those short of time.

Key lecturer:

• Christian Spindler (Senior Manager at PwC)

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Cost: London – £2638.80 (including VAT), Online – £2158.80 (including VAT)

Certification: CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Certification.

Study Method: In-person or virtual classrooms to conduct practical sessions and discussions.

Click here for more information.

5. Columbia University, edX – Machine Learning for Data Science and Analytics

Summary: Another Ivy League School, Columbia University, brings their 5-week course to Edx, a global online learning platform. This artificial intelligence course gives learners a solid understanding of the principles in machine learning, covering its relation to statistics and data analysis, computer algorithms to detect patterns, how to utilise data patterns in decision making and more.

Advantage: Self-paced course suitable for busy individuals.

Key lecturers:

• Cliff Stein (Professor of IEOR and of Computer Science – Columbia University)
• David Blei (Professor of Computer Science and Statistics – Columbia University)
• Mihalis Yannakakis (Professor of Computer Science – Columbia University)

Level: Intermediate to advanced

Cost: Free or US$99 for certification

Certification: Can be transferred into credits for the Master of Computer Science program at Columbia University

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

6. MIT – Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy 

Summary: MIT once again partners with e-learning platform GetSmarter to address the growing demand among business professionals to get an understanding of what exactly artificial intelligence is and how it will impact business. This online AI course is practically focused and follows a similar pattern to the MIT Fintech Certificate in which learners were first given an introduction to the subject and then given a capstone project to apply their understanding.

One of CFTE’s alumni who completed this AI course called it “comprehensive with plenty of videos, readings, discussion forums and assignments”. 

Advantage: Strategic in focus versus theoretical. Multiple semester intakes and self-paced course to suit your schedule.

Key lecturer:

• Thomas W. Malone (Professor of Information Technology | Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence)
• Andrew Lo (Professor of Finance | Director, Laboratory for Financial Engineering – MIT Sloan School of Management)
• Alex Pentland (Toshiba Professor of Media Arts & Sciences Director | Human Dynamics Lab and MIT Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program)
• Daniela Rus (Director – Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), MIT)
  

Level: Intermediate 

Cost: US$3,200

Certification: MIT Certification of Completion 

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

7. Open Badge Programme, IBM Skills Gateway

Summary: Learners on the Open Badge Programme have access to a variety of artificial intelligence and machine learning short courses (or badges) that have been designed to help you understand the basics of AI and machine learning. As it’s IBM, the courses pivot towards familiarising learners with their ecosystem of AI products such as IBM Watson and IBM Cloud.

Note: Courses are aimed at enterprise developers with an academic background in computer science.

Advantage: IBM badges are more focused on the business application of AI on an enterprise level. Courses available for all skill / experience levels.

Key lecturer:

• N/A

Level: 4 levels – Explorer, Instructor, Author and Mastery

Cost: Varies

Certification: IBM Badge

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

8. Data Science, Deep Learning, & Machine Learning with Python, Udemy

Summary: Of all the courses mentioned on the list, this is probably one of the best for beginners. It’s a self-paced course that focuses on using a lot of video content to deliver the teaching material – more than 80 lectures spanning 12 hours of video. It covers all the AI and Machine Learning concepts and provides a great platform to dive deeper.

Advantage: Easy to understand, free of complex jargon and built for complete beginners.

Key lecturer:

• Frank Kane (Founder – Sundog Education | Former Senior Manager – IMDb.com, Amazon)

Level: Beginner

Cost: US$11.99

Certification: Course Completion Certification

Study Method: Online

Click here for more information.

About CFTE

CFTE is an education platform supported by senior leaders from the largest institutions, startups and universities. It addresses the needs of professionals in finance and technologists to up-skill in a rapidly changing industry being transformed by emerging technologies.

Start learning about Artificial Intelligence in Finance Today

What are you waiting for? With CFTE’s Artificial Intelligence in Finance online specialisation, you can start learning about AI today directly from global leaders in the industry.

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With the financial industry on the cusp of a significant shift to digital, ‘Will your job exist tomorrow?’ was the perfect question for CFTE’s Co-founder, Tram Anh, to put to an audience full of finance professionals at this year’s Money 20/20 conference in Copenhagen.
The response was overwhelming.
The rest of this article will explore the backdrop to Tram Anh’s talk at Money 20/20. It will attempt to put into context the changes that are occurring in the financial industry as a result of technological disruption.

Money 20/20 Europe

Money 20/20 Europe is a leading international conference. Thousands of professionals across various industries such as banking, advertising, media, investment, and technology attend the conference annually.
This years conference was held against a backdrop of record levels of investment in FinTech. According to a CBI Insights report, investment in FinTech is set to exceed 2016 levels.
With FinTech gaining momentum people were naturally eager to understand how it would impact their jobs.

Tram Anh delivers her message on jobs in Finance 2.0

Tram Anh was invited to Money 20/20 Europe speak about the impact of technology on jobs on the brand new Arena Stage.
The innovative stage is designed to enable maximum engagement from the audience. The stage utilises multiple screens on all sides, floor projections and circular seating to deliver an immersive experience for the audience.
Thus, it was the perfect stage (no pun intended!) for Tram Anh to deliver her message on the impact of technological disruption on jobs in finance.
 

The audiences and their thoughts

A highlight from the talk was when she asked the audience:
What do you think your job will be in the next 5 years?

1. My job will disappear
2. My job will stay the same
3. My job will be significantly different

For the answer, she pulled the audience onto the stage with her and via projections onto the ground floor, she asked them to choose a segment that corresponded to the three choices she had given.
Most people seemed to think their jobs would definitely change as a direct result of technological advancements. Some were insistent that their job would remain totally unchanged, no matter what happened in tech.
Nobody thought his or her job would totally disappear – not a single person.
Was the audience correct in their assumptions (after all, they are all professionals… many senior managers or CEOs)?
Or were they being too optimistic about the security of their positions?
 

Learning lessons from History

As much as we would like to, we cannot look into the future for answers.
However, it is possible to reflect on past data to make accurate predictions. Many parallels can be drawn between the financial and advertising industries.
In the past 2 decades, advertising has gone through a technological revolution, which has reshaped the industry and redefined jobs. Tram Anh drew on this data to illustrate what is happening in Finance now.

The Disruption of Advertising

If one looks at the total advertising industry, it has undoubtedly transformed during the last 10 years.
Upon closer inspection, it is revealed that, while Internet advertising grew to around 5 times its initial size, print advertising collapsed, shrinking by around 60%.
Overall, the advertising industry is bigger today than 10 years ago.

What happened?

As the Internet grew as a network, new digital technologies such as search engines grew with it, changing how readers accessed and consumed information.
People began to spend more time online consuming content, thus the emphasis shifted from print to new business models that leveraged the power of digital technology.
This led to a subsequent decline in the sale of books, newspapers, and magazines and gave birth to an ecosystem of innovative businesses that live online.

Online advertising grows

Businesses like the Huffington Post, WordPress and variety advertising technology platforms were born. Some print newspapers, like The Independent, have even become digital pure plays as they look to move with the times.
With a shift in the way content is consumed came a shift in the way advertisers had to sell products. Nowadays, Google alone makes more advertising revenue than the entire US Print Media, see figure 1.
 

New jobs created

What really happened was some jobs disappeared, others were transformed and some entirely new positions have emerged.
Demand for digital skills such as data analytics, SEO, social media has grown as advertisers now compete for the short attention spans of online readers and consumers.
 

• Hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared in newspapers,
• Hundreds of thousands of jobs were transitioned to a digital world

And many totally new jobs were created.

What does FinTech mean for your job?

What Tram Anh concluded was that innovation in financial technologies will likely lead to:

• Jobs Totally Changing: In the advertising industry, the technological revolution meant almost everybody had to adapt from print media to online media. In finance, most jobs will experience a similar transformation.

• Jobs Disappearing: Technology will, unfortunately, lead to whole sectors of finance becoming obsolete with certain job roles disappearing. Print advertising as a segment saw a massive decline and with it, many jobs disappeared.

• New Jobs Being Created: As demonstrated by the advertising industry example, technology creates jobs. Both within existing industries and in new adjacent sectors that are born of a need to service facilitate the growth new technology brings.

• Which roles? Some new job roles can be predicted, others less so. For example, the explosion of data is increasing demand for financial companies to better manage their data, thus we can fairly confidently predict that demand for data specific skills will increase. Other roles likely to emerge are harder to predict. But just as blogging and social media have flourished we can expect similar parallels to emerge in Finance 2.0

 
The inescapable fact is, change is already happening.
Take the number of Cash Equity traders in Goldman Sachs’ New York Office. In 2000, there were 600 but today, following advancements in Automation and AI, there are only 2.
Most of the people in finance are now beginning to become more aware of the technology-driven changes like these.
The next step is for professionals working in finance to take proactive steps to ensure that they are best positioned to benefit from these changes. 
It was on this principle, to help finance professionals transition to Finance 2.0, that CFTE was founded.
The FinTech courses CFTE is developing have been designed to educate and empower professionals to seize the opportunity technology creates.
For more information, register with us here.
 
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If you’re looking for a Fintech course to improve your skills, learn how to get into Fintech or to gain a foundation for a Fintech career, you’re on the right track to success. There’s no other way to pick up the knowledge needed other than sitting down and learning first-hand. We highlighted these online Fintech courses as they represent the very best in terms of contributions from experts, quality, programme structure and networks. You can look through the list and find which one addresses what’s important to you.

Here’s what’s available on the market today:

1. CFTE – Fintech Specialisation 

Summary: The Fintech Foundation Specialisation is an introductory course to learn about Fintech and digital finance from the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship. It targets finance professionals, entrepreneurs, and technologists. It has been designed in collaboration with 4 senior lecturers and 16 industry experts from across finance, to give a comprehensive breakdown of main Fintech trends in a simple and concise manner.

CFTE offers Corporate Training for teams with our Fintech program.

Advantages:

• Taught in an easy-to-digest manner by 4 senior Fintech lecturers who between them have lectured at Singapore Management University, Imperial College London, Oxford University and The University of Hong Kong.
• Industry insights from 16 top experts working in Fintech, including the Global Head of Bank Research at Citi, Global Head of Innovation at HSBC, CEO of Ping An Technology, and many more
• Accreditation from the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF)  and SkillFuture in Singapore. Singaporean candidates may benefit from subsidies provided by IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS). Also accredited by CPD in the UK and by the ACT.
• Be part of a global community of over 70,000 professionals and entrepreneurs
• Events to network and free online lessons with key people in FinTech to stay updated

Key lecturers:

• Huy Nguyen Trieu (CEO – The Disruptive Group | Co-Founder – CFTE | Associate Fellow – Oxford)
• Andrei Kirilenko (Director – Centre for Global Finance and Technology | Imperial College London)
• Janos Barberis (Founder – Supercharger | Head of Entrepreneurship – CFTE | Research Fellow – Hong Kong University)
• Dan Liebau (Founder – Lightbulb Capital | Instructor Fintech & Innovation – Singapore Management University)

Key Statistics:

• 40,000+ Learners Enrolled
• 4 Senior Academics
• 16 Fintech Guest Experts

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Cost: £360 or 3 payments of £120.

Certificate: CPD Accredited Certificate of Completion

Study Structure/Method:

• Course Format: 100% Online
• Course Access: 6 months access to content from the start date
• Course Model: Instructor-Led

2. CFTE – Fintech 360 Programme

Summary: The Fintech 360 Programme by CFTE is an online course designed for those hungry to learn, but with little time to spare. The programme is perfect for anyone from students, financial professionals, non-techies and those looking to learn more about fintech. Fintech 360 helps one build a fundamental understanding of financial technology with short 15-minute daily courses to fit the learner’s busy schedules. The programme will cover topics from Fintech, Payments, AI, Open Banking and RegTech, through a variety of formats, whether it be video lessons, interviews with experts, quizzes, real-life case studies or reading material.

Advantages:

• Bite-sized Courses: You can easily fit in 15 minute bite-sized courses into your your busy daily schedule
• Learn form top executives: You will gain knowledge directly from leading experts like Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank, Rob Frohwein, CEO & Co-Founder of Kabbage, Jean-Philippe Desbiolles, Global VP for Data, Cognitive & AI at IBM, among other leading experts.
• Gain all-rounder Knowledge: This programme will help you cover all the fundamentals of Fintech, AI in Finance, Open Banking, Payments, and RegTech
• Learn to apply technologies on real projects: The course will help you build the right skills to identify the technologies that influence the provision of fintech and financial services, and be able to confidently apply such technologies appropriately and effectively
• Detailed case studies: Be able to evaluate the applications of technology in financial services through relevant and detailed case studies

Key lecturers:

• Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank
• Rob Frohwein, CEO & Co-Founder of Kabbage
• Jean-Philippe Desbiolles, Global VP for Data, Cognitive & AI at IBM
• Shameek Kundu, Former Chief Data Officer at Standard Chartered and Head of FS & Chief Strategy Officer at Truera
• Ayesha Khanna, Founder & CEO of ADDO AI
• Mellisa Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Arbor Ventures

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Cost: Start learning for free with a 7-day Free Trial on CFTE’s THINK platform

Certificate: On successful completion, you will receive a sharable badge that certifies the completion of the course

Study Structure/Method:

• Online self-paced with 30 days worth of learning content.
• On starting the programme unlock bite-sized 15-mins videos everyday.
• Go beyond traditional learning by interacting with experts and learners with forums and discussions. 

3. Saïd Business School, Oxford University — Oxford Fintech Programme

Summary:  A course specifically designed to achieve two outcomes. First, to arm students with a working knowledge of Fintech and second, to identify new opportunities for innovation in finance so that they are equipped to launch new Fintech ventures. Not for the faint-hearted as the course carries a heavy workload. Special mention: CFTE co-founder, Huy Nguyen Trieu is an Associate Fellow at Oxford and helped design this programme.

Advantages: Hands-on practical exercises that stretch your thinking about what’s possible in modern finance.

Key lecturers:

• Prof. Nir Vulkan (Associate Professor of Business Economics – Saïd Business School | Fellow – Worcester College, University of Oxford)

Level: Intermediate

Cost: £2,650

Certificate: Certificate of attendance from Oxford University

Study Method:  self-paced online learning, 6 weeks

4. Harvard Business School – Fintech Online Short Course

Summary: Offering an up-to-date overview of the Fintech industry, this course taps into experts’ insights to offer guidance about the changing landscape of the finance industry. It also looks at increased regulation in the industry, how traditional institutions are adapting to these rapid changes and the evolving strategies of start-ups in this space to remain profitable.

Advantage: Short course from one of the world’s leading educational institutes. Utilises innovative pedagogical approaches pioneered by the Harvard Business School and presents real challenges reflecting the constant change within the Fintech landscape.

Key lecturers:

• Lauren Cohen (L.E. Simmons Professor of Business Administration | Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research)
• Christopher Malloy (Sylvan C. Coleman Professor of Financial Management | Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research)

Level: Intermediate

Cost: US$3,600

Certificate: Premier Certificate

Study Method: Online, 6 weeks

5. Imperial College Business School — Fintech Programme

Summary: A 2-day course targeting senior bankers, it aims to give participants a strong grasp on how to implement Fintech within their own organisations. Focusing on the application of technologies such as distributed ledger technologies, digital money and digital identities and how they are impacting traditional business models. The course was co-designed by CFTE co-founder Huy Nguyen Trieu.

Advantages: Suitable for those with a focused interest in blockchain technology. Only takes 2 days to complete.

Key lecturers:

• Deeph Chana (Programme Co-Director Professor of Practice within Imperial College Business School)
• Stephen Hansen (Associate Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School(
• Alfonso Delgado De Molina Rius (Emerging Tech Consultant and Computer Science Ph.D. student at Imperial College London)
• Jason Maude (Chief Technology Advocate at Starling Bank)
• Tom Stevens (Chief Commercial Officer for ETFmatic)
• Philip Nadler (Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Computing and a consultant for the Data Science Institute at Imperial College London)
• José-Luis Peydró (Programme Director & Professor of Finance)
• Helene Panzarino (Director of the Digital Finance Portfolio)

Level: mid to senior-level professionals

Cost: £1,800

Certificate: N/A

Study Method: Online, 2 days

6. National University of Singapore – Fintech: Innovation and transformation in Financial Services

Summary: This programme has been designed for individual consultants, team leaders, product managers and those responsible for driving innovation and business outcomes. The course summary caters for the risks, opportunities and key considerations of applying FinTech to innovation. 

Advantages:

• Turn your learnings into a personalised action plan during the course

Key lecturer: 

• Dr Ernie Teo (Adjunct Senior Lecturer for the Department of Analytics and Operations at NUS Business School,  Co-founder of Dedoco, and Vice Chairman for Blockchain Association Singapore)

Level: Intermediate

Cost: USD 1,600

Certificate: Digital certificate at completion

Study method: Online, 2 months

7. The University of Hong Kong — Introduction to FinTech

Summary: Taught by leading academics, this online course is an excellent introduction to the world of Fintech. Co-developed by CFTE, the course also features 3 CFTE lecturers among the 6: Janos Barberis (founder of SuperCharger), Huy Nguyen Trieu (co-founder of CFTE) and Douglas W. Arner (Kerry Holdings Professor in Law at the University of Hong Kong).

Advantages: Targeted at beginners such as university students and fresh graduates, the course tackles key concepts in Fintech, from cryptocurrencies to RegTech, with lecturers providing clear explanations about the changing Fintech landscape. No prior knowledge is required, meaning that it is a useful platform for students to gain a basic foundation and understanding of Fintech.

Key lecturers:

• Douglas Arner (Kerry Holdings Professor in Law –  University of Hong Kong / Academic Board Member – CFTE)
• Janos Barberis (Founder – Supercharger | Head of Entrepreneurship – CFTE / Research Fellow – Hong Kong University)
• Huy Nguyen Trieu (CEO – The Disruptive Group | Co-Founder – CFTE | Associate Fellow – Oxford)
• Henri Arslanian (FinTech & RegTech Lead – China and Hong Kong, PwC | Adjunct Associate Professor, Hong Kong University)
• Ross P Buckley (King & Wood Mallesons Chair in International Finance Law | Scientia Professor, UNSW Sydney)
• Brian Tang (Managing Director – Asia Capital Markets Institute)

Level: Beginner

Cost: FREE

Certificate: Verified certificate for £153

Study Method: Online and self-paced, 6 weeks

8. Duke University — Fintech Law and Policy

Summary: It may be a little out there, but hear us out. Success in Fintech doesn’t just rely on innovation, as desirable as that would be. A successful company should also have a firm grasp of the regulations and laws applicable to its operations. This course offers knowledge of critical policy and regulatory issues surrounding cryptocurrencies, ICOs, wealth management, and more, but do note that it covers primarily information about US Fintech regulations.

Advantages: A course that is US-focused that gives participants an insight into the nitty-gritty of the complex policies surrounding the US Fintech industry. It is also fairly light in terms of commitment, with the course taking a recommended 13 hours to complete.

Key lecturer:

• Lee Reiners, CFA (Executive Director – Global Financial Markets Center)

Level: Beginner

Cost: FREE

Certificate: US$49

Study Method: Online, with flexible deadlines

9. San Francisco’s Fintech School

Summary: Based in San Francisco, the Fintech School offers a number of blended learning courses aimed at introducing professionals to key topics such as Blockchain, Crowdfunding and Robo-Advisors. With a focus on practical Fintech training, these courses will walk you through a number of ‘101’ styled subjects with the intended purpose of providing participants a soft introduction to the industry. In addition to their online Fintech courses, the school organises several workshops across North America if you prefer a more immersive programme.

Advantage: There are a variety of Fintech topics on offer at a low price point, with content designed by Fintech entrepreneurs and subject matter experts.

Key lecturers:

• Gregory LaBlanc (Faculty Director – Berkeley Fintech Institute | Faculty Director & Instructor – UC Berkeley Executive Education)
• Patrick Baron (Founder & CEO – Blockchain Consulting Group)
• Neeraj Srivastava (CTO – DLTLabs)
• Khadija Khartit (Managing Partner – IFS Advisory | Faculty, Brandeis University)

Level: Beginner

Cost: Modules start from US$99

Certificate: N/A

Study Method: Online, self-paced

10. Copenhagen Business School – Digital Competition in Financial Services

Summary: This online course is designed for individuals that want to carve out a career in digital finance. Focusing on all digital aspects of the financial industry, it tackles the topics of transformation, platforms, ecosystems, open API and open banking. Instructors will lead using state-of-the-art examples and also share knowledge from their own research, giving you valuable insight into digital strategies in tomorrow’s world of finance.

Advantages: Covers everything you need to know about the digital transformation in finance. Offers a solid foundation to build on with more advanced courses in the future. Suitable for those short of time, taking just a recommended 16 hours to complete.

Key lecturers:

• Jonas Hedman (Associate Professor, Department of Digitalization – Copenhagen Business School)
• Stefan Henningsson (Associate Professor, Department of Digitalization – Copenhagen Business School)

Level: Beginner

Cost: 7-day free trial, US$49 per month after trial ends

Certificate: Certificate of completion

Study Method: Online, self-paced with flexible deadlines

Which Fintech course should I choose?

What Fintech course you choose really depends on what you’re looking for. Of course, we are slightly more inclined to recommend the Fintech courses which are close to us: CFTE, Hong Kong University, Oxford and Imperial College!

However, choosing the right course really comes down to your goals and what you want to learn. From the list above, it’s already clear that the world of Fintech is expansive – there is no course that covers all bases! For example, if you want to dive deep into Fintech and try your hand at testing a business plan, then the courses offered by Oxford or Harvard will be suitable for you. 

On the flip side, if you want a general introduction to Fintech, then the CFTE Fintech Foundation or Fintech 360 course is probably the right option for you, given the quality of the content and lecturers, and the format clarity. And if you are a student who would like to complement his/her education in finance, the HKU MOOC could be a great option. 

In all cases, learning Fintech is a must today, so good luck in your journey!

Start learning about Fintech today

There is no time to waste. You can start learning about Fintech today, right now.

The post 10 Best Fintech Online Courses & Certifications 2023 [UPDATED] appeared first on CFTE.

Huy completes elite lineup for the Oxford Fintech Programme

Oxford Said Business School is launching their first online Fintech courses, and we’re very proud that our own Co-founder, Huy Nguyen Trieu, will lead the module on innovation in finance.
He’ll be in very impressive company, the other instructors are:
Peter Tufano – the Dean of Oxford Said.
David Shrier – MIT’s futurist who also led the very successful MIT Fintech courses.
Nir Vulkan – associate Professor of Business Economics at Saïd Business School and a leading authority on e-commerce and market design.
Alex Pentland – a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and advisor to the Tencent Research Foundation and the Government of Estonia.

Huy’s Innovation Module

Huy will teach about one of his favourite topics: innovation in finance, and how Fintech startups, banks and tech giants are rapidly transforming the finance industry, the challenges and opportunities from this intense transformation and different frameworks to understand this complex issue.

Learn More…

The Oxford Fintech programme covers a lot of other interesting topics in finance and Fintech during the 10-week packed programme. Have a look here for more details.
If you like reading press releases, here’s much more info about Huy’s module in innovation and the Oxford course.
Visit www.cfte.education for an overview of our education project.
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