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Cambridge Fintech and Regulatory Innovation (CFTRI)

Back to Capacity building and education

A tutor-led online programme for senior policymakers and regulators.

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Next cohort

April 2023.

King's College and the River Cam.

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Overview

The FinTech and Regulatory Innovation (CFTRI) programme is a tutor-led online programme delivered to senior policymakers and regulators at central banks, security agencies and ministries of finance.

Over eight weeks, participants learn essential concepts concerning the technologies and business models that are transforming the financial industry. The focus of the programme is on formulating evidence-based regulatory, supervisory and policy responses to the development of financial technology.

Participants are taught by leading economists, lawyers, engineers, regulators and development professionals in interactive online lectures. Each participant is also guided by an expert tutor in small tutorial groups and is helped to develop a capstone project that they then present in their own organisation. Previous projects have included the launch of new regulatory and market development initiatives, improvements to existing innovation offices, and the formation of inter-jurisdictional collaborations.

To date, over 1500 central Banks, security agency and ministry of finance officials have participated and been trained through the programme from 340+ organisations in more than 145 jurisdictions.This has been made possible through the generous support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the UK Commonwealth Secretariat, the Asian Development Bank Institute, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

“
I wish to take this great opportunity to thank the Cambridge Judge Business School family and leadership for taking us through the FinTech & Regulatory Innovation programme. The programme is a masterpiece, comprehensive, well planned, and best fit mode of delivery. The programme was well designed to provide sustainable building blocks of a knowledge base on the digital economy through the learning and sharing of experiences as well as developing a global network which will forever bring lasting change in my work career. The project training and presentations helped me appreciate critical issues that one needs to consider to have buy-in and support within the organisation. I am sure I am going to see the full implementation of my proposed project. Indeed, the training helped me to think out of the box, and I will surely recommend others to take it. ”
Amon Chitsva, Head of Policy & Research, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Topics

Fintech & Regulatory Innovation is delivered over eight weeks and requires participants to study for five to six hours each week.

The introductory week provides an overview of the key transformative technologies used in the financial sector, including machine learning, natural language processing, APIs, QR codes, cloud computing, DLT and others. In each subsequent week, a fintech sector will be covered with a focus on the defining characteristics of different business model, to equip regulators with an understanding of the fundamentals of each.

Following the assessment of each fintech sector, a range of regulatory responses are worked through including regulatory sandboxes, innovation offices, regulatory and supervisory technologies, regulatory reform and international cooperation.

The course is delivered via tutor groups, interactive online lectures, and online readings and exercises. Participants work closely with their colleagues from other regulatory organisations and receive personal support from their tutor.

Programme structure

  • Welcome and Orientation
  • Module 1: Fintech Innovation and Regulation
  • Module 2: Deconstructing Banking
  • Module 3: Open Finance and Digitising Payments
  • Module 4: Digital Assets
  • Module 5: Digital Lending and Capital Raising
  • Module 6: Regulatory Innovation and Tech Responses
  • Capstone Project Presentations
“
I am very delighted that I have had the opportunity to attend the Cambridge FinTech and Regulatory Innovation programme (CFTRI) which I would highly recommend for financial regulator officials interested in developing high- quality project proposals to take back to their institutions and for all policymaker employees interested in expanding their knowledge regarding FinTech and related issues. I am assured that the learning opportunities that the CFTRI programme provides will be of great benefit for anybody working in the financial sector, especially bearing in mind CFTRI’s programme structure and topics, as well as its widely appreciated tutors. I consider that well-drafted and detailed regulations in the FinTech area and their proper application, as well as mitigation of risks in relation to digital technologies are the prerequisites for the development of financial and capital markets in any country and for the appropriate protection of market participants. Therefore, it is of crucial importance for regulators to properly understand innovative FinTech opportunities, and I am certain that this programme will provide them the necessary tools to expand their knowledge in this area. ”
Anina Todorović, Head of International Cooperation and Development Department, Securities Commission, Republic of Serbia

Benefits

  • Tutor-led instruction delivered to small, interactive peer-learning groups
  • High profile guest speakers from around the world share latest insights on fintech and regulatory innovation
  • Study and learn with peers from around the world in an interactive and engaging way
  • Receive full support along the way with a dedicated administrative contact and tutor
  • Gain access to feedback from University of Cambridge faculty and fellows
  • Enjoy online study in a convenient learning environment
  • Access to the CCAF global alumni of regulators and policymakers
  • Participate in a programme with average NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 90
“
The Fintech & Regulatory Innovation programme provided me with insights into key innovations in the financial sector and more importantly how regulators can accommodate financial innovations while maintaining the integrity of the financial sector. In addition, the nature of the global participants in the programme gave me the opportunity to share experiences and learn from other regulators the challenges that they face with regulating financial innovations and how they cope with those challenges. Lastly, the tutors were very knowledgeable and most sessions were based on empirical evidence from research. I strongly recommend the programme to other financial sector regulators. ”
Alex Ochan, Head of Financial Inclusion Division, Bank of Uganda
“
Disruptive technology has reshaped the financial sector landscape with the emergence of fintech and fundamental changes in consumer behavior, and adoption of new strategy and business models by incumbent financial institutions. Regulators need to embrace the revolutionary changes by adopting an agile and balanced regulatory strategy to promote innovation and maintain financial stability, as well as to develop talents and new capability. The Cambridge FinTech and Regulatory Innovation Programme is one of the best online programme for financial regulators and policymakers. It equips participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of key innovative technologies and business models of fintech firms, and the regulatory implications and responses required. Besides learning from selected experts (tutors) it allows sharing knowledge and experience among participants and expanding global network. ”
Sukarela Batunanggar, Deputy Commissioner of OJK Institute and Digital Finance, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan, Indonesia

Who should attend

This tutor-led programme has been designed for financial regulators and policymakers from around the world working in strategy, policy, authorisation, licensing, enforcement, technology, legal or research to ensure multidisciplinary cohorts.

Please contact us for more details as to whether this programme is right for you or to apply.

The map below highlights the global spread of participants of the first six cohorts of the programme.

World map showing the global distribution of participants on the first six cohorts of the programme. The map shows that there were participants from or headquartered in over 135 countries across six continents.
“
It was an honour to participate in the Cambridge FinTech & Regulatory Innovation programme, which provides diverse information about the international fintech world, with experts in high-level financial technology. It also allows you to share your experience from the point of view of each participant. All the live sessions, online modules and tutor-led sessions allowed me to expand my knowledge in different subjects.Dorian Loyo, Deputy General Director of Prudential Regulatory, Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, Mexico ”
Dorian Loyo, Deputy General Director of Prudential Regulatory, Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, Mexico
“
Cambridge's FinTech & Regulatory Innovation Programme is excellent! I do recommend this programme to everyone working on the financial services industry. The programme covers all relevant topics and all geographies, sharing knowledge and data about the new developments, bringing in experts from academia, agencies (national and international), FS industry and researchers. Besides the weekly presentations, CFTRI also organises peer group discussions of specific topics with deeper detail, which adds more value to this programme. Well done Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance! ”
Célia Claudino Reis, Economist, Commisao do Mercado de Valores Mobiliaros, Portugal

Faculty & speakers

Academic Programme Director

Robert (Bob) Wardrop

Co-Founder & Director, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

Programme tutors

Dee Allen

Head, Education and Capacity Building / Tutor

Keith Bear

Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology

Zain Umer

Digital Assets Regulation

Grigory McKain

Lead, Content Development

Philip Rowan

Regulatory Innovation

Nick Clark

Regulatory Innovation

Ana Odorović

Digital Lending and Capital Raising

Expert tutors

  • Alexander Apostolides, Regulatory Research and InsurTech
  • Emmanuel (Manos) Schizas, Regulatory Technologies
  • Hatim Hussain, Cryptoassets and Blockchain
  • Dr Jason Allen, Digital Assets and Payments
  • Jill Lagos, Open Finance and Digital Payments
  • Karsten Wenzlaff, Digital Lending and Crowdfunding
  • Dr Marcelo Prates, Digital Assets
  • Nick Drury, Digital Assets
  • Dr Patrick Conteh, Regulatory Sandboxes
  • Dr Sarah Ombija, Regulatory Research and Innovation
  • Waleed Samarah, SupTech and Crowdfunding
  • Werner Bijkerk, Regulatory Risk
  • Dr Yassar Nasser, Digital Banking and Payments

Programme speakers

Previous speakers on the programme include:

  • John Frost, Senior Economist, Innovation and the Digital Economy at Bank for International Settlements
  • Pieter Franken, Director, ASEAN Financial Innovation Network
  • Lesly Goh, World Bank Senior Technology Advisor
  • Klaus Loeber, Head of Oversight, European Central Bank, Innovations Working Group CPMI
  • Professor Ben Shenglin, Dean, Academy of Internet Finance, Zhejiang University
  • Diego Herrera, Financial Markets Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
  • Yuta Takanashi, Deputy Director for the Office of International Affairs, Financial Services Agency of Japan
  • Shamiah Wykcliffe, CEO, Capital Markets Authority, Kenya
  • Caroline Malcolm, Head of Blockchain Policy, OECD
  • Laura Clavijo Muñoz,  Director of Innovation, Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia
  • Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Unit, Digital Innovation & Blockchain, Digital Single Market Directorate, DG CONNECT, Co-Chair, FinTech Task Force, European Commission
  • Professor Njunguna Ndung’u, Executive Director, African Economic Research Consortium
  • Chris Charlton, Tech Lead, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
  • Mariela Atanassova, Group Flow, Former Head of Innovation, SWIFT
  • Devyani Parameshwar, Head of Commercial for M-Pesa, Vodafone Group
  • Mark Perez, Head of Department, Department of Supervisory Analytics, Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas

Dates & fees

The programme is sponsored by the UK Commonwealth Secretariat and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Asia Development Bank Institute, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Our sponsors are able to provide a number of bursaries for eligible participants.

Start date

Duration

Cost

19 April 2023

8 weeks

US$2,500

For information regarding payment terms, cancellation rights, transfer policies and fees, please see our terms & conditions document:

Download the CFTRI terms & conditions

Terms and conditions updated 16 March 2021

Registration closes at midday two working days before the programme start date.

Participants are expected to attend the full programme.

“
The CFTRI Programme is relevant, up to date and comprehensive and all aspects of Fintech regulation – providing recent real life examples of failures and successes. The course covers a diverse range of Fintech business models and approaches to supervision across multiple geographies, bringing a truly international perspective to this rapidly evolving sector. Tutorials and online forums provide the opportunity to connect with other regulators, debate and contrast approaches to emerging areas of Fintech and learn from others’ experiences. With capacity building regularly cited as a key constraint upon successful Fintech regulation, this course is an essential part of knowledge development for any professionals engaged in regulation or supervision of Fintech ”
Lauren Djedid, Legal Manager, Qatar Financial Centre

If you have any questions or would like to have a chat about this programme and how it could benefit you or your organisation, please get in touch:

Capacity Building and Education Team
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

[email protected]

Dr Dee Allen
Head, Capacity Building and Education

[email protected]

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Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education and Cambridge Judge Business School will use your personal information to respond to your query, and to process your application if you are applying.

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Next steps

If you want to learn more about the programme, you can download your copy of our CFTRI brochure.

Download brochure

Apply to join our next CFTRI cohort.

Book your place

Version 8 (22 March 2023)