Full programme here
Registration here
The workshop will take place online via Zoom. Please register via the link above by 23rd November 2020. After registration you will receive a personal link that will grant you access to the workshop.
The Global Network of Financial Geography (FinGeo) Online Workshop
25th November 2020 (13:00-17:00 GMT) and 26th November 2020 (08:00-12:00 GMT)
Evolving Geographies of FinTech
Co-convenors
David Bassens (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Reijer Hendrikse (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Karen P.Y. Lai (Durham University)
Dariusz Wójcik (Oxford University)
Theme
This 2-day workshop aims to bring together a global audience of academics, industry practitioners and regulators to take stock of emerging, evolving and maturing geographies of financial technology (FinTech). FinTech operates at the intersections of the financial and technology sectors, where big technology (BigTech) firms and start-ups are creating new platforms, products, and services beyond those currently provided by the traditional finance industry. FinTech domains and applications cover a wide range – from blockchains, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, to robo-advising, mobile platforms and big data analytics. Instead of being threatened by the ‘disruptive’ potential of FinTech as such, incumbent banks and financial institutions have become more aggressive in the adoption and development of FinTech through the acquisition of technological capabilities, partnerships with tech firms, and setting up FinTech platforms. Novel digital solutions are increasingly rolled out in ‘underbanked’ environments leading to the rapid financial enclosure/inclusion of populations in the Global South. Meanwhile, regulatory attention has shifted towards BigTech platforms and their endeavours into finance and even monetary policy, such as Facebook aiming to develop a global digital currency. Increasingly, there are geopolitical implications to these developments, as American BigTechs and financial regulators are increasingly challenged by major Chinese platforms, amidst broader trade tensions relating to technology and security issues. This raises the increasingly significant role of FinTech in the rise and evolution of ‘surveillance capitalism’ and concerns over the rights of data ownership and utilisation. The relevance and potential impacts of FinTech have become all the more pertinent in the age of coronavirus and the accelerated shift towards online transactions and consumption practices.
Programme
All times listed as GMT
Day 1: Wednesday 25 November, 13:00-17:00 (GMT)
13:00 – 13:10 Welcome by the Organisers
13:10 – 15:00 Session 1: Economic Geographies of FinTech (Chair: Karen Lai)
How does artificial intelligence change advanced business services?
The future of accounting and law and the implications for finance
James Faulconbridge, Lancaster University
AI-related General Purpose Technology (GPT) in Advanced Services:
An Industry Space
Francisco Trincado-Munoz, Loughborough University
Tzameret H. Rubin, Loughborough University
Michiel van Meeteren, Loughborough University
Tim Vorley, Oxford Brookes University
Exploring the global dynamics of London’s FinTech labour market(s)
Ylka Hysaj, University of Bristol
Jonathan V. Beaverstock, University of Bristol
Greg Schwartz, University of Bristol
FinTechs and digital banks in Brazil: an empirical analysis (2015-2020)
Fabio Betioli Contel, University of Sao Paulo
Old Finance in New Cryptos: The Pesky Persistence of Structure in Geography
Matthew Zook, University of Kentucky
Michael Grote, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
Open discussion
15:00 – 15:10 Comfort Break
15:10 – 17:00 Session 2: FinTech Consumption and Practices (Chair: David Bassens)
‘Customer centricity’ and other investor tales of European universal banks in digital times
Mariana Santos, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Disrupting the Corridor: The Micro-Worlds of Mobile Money and Migrant Infrastructures
Liza Rose Cirolia, University of Cape Town
Algoritmic economy and speculative strategies across time and space
Thomas Skou Grindsted, Roskilde University
“Invest in people. Literally”: Income Share Agreements, FinTech and the search for profit in post-secondary education
Tom Baker, University of Auckland
Dan Cohen, Queen’s University
Emily Rosenman, Penn State University
FinTech and the Gamification of Finance
Karen Lai, Durham University
Paul Langley, Durham University
Open discussion
Day 2: Thursday 26 November, 08:00-12:00 (GMT)
08:00 – 09:50 Session 3: Geopolitics of FinTech (Chair: Dariusz Wójcik)
Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain Technologies and International Sanctions:
The Dawn of New Finance/Security Infrastructures?
Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, University of Groningen
Francesco Giumelli, University of Groningen
“War on cash” and FinTech geopolitics
Dennis Stolz, Independent Researcher
The Financialization of BigTech
Ilke Adriaans, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
Rodrigo Fernandez, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
Reijer Hendrikse, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Tobias Klinge, KU Leuven
Europe’s Quest for (FinTech) Autonomy
Carola Westermeier, University of Amsterdam
The Geopolitics of Platform Finance: BigFin-BigTech relations in the European Union
David Bassens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Reijer Hendrikse, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Open discussion
09:50 – 10:00 Comfort Break
10:00 – 11:50 Session 4: FinTech Markets and Regulation (Chair: Reijer Hendrikse)
FinTech and financial instability. A Minskyan perspective
Stefanos Ioannou, University of Oxford
Dariusz Wójcik, University of Oxford
Governing China’s FinTech ecosystem: Entrepreneurial opportunity pursuit in the world of BAT and CCP
Vladimir Pažitka, University of Oxford
Dariusz Wójcik, University of Oxford
Wei Wu, University of Oxford
Law, trust, and the development of crowd funding
Raghavendra Rau, University of Cambridge
Reshaping Geographies of Real Estate Financing and Investment by Crowdfunding
Dasom Hong, Seoul National University
Formalizing Cryptocurrency Futures
Chris Muellerleile, Swansea University
Open discussion
11:50-12:00 Closing Remarks by the Organisers
