FinTech and AI in Finance (FinTAF)

Blockchain Adoption Among SMEs in Morocco: A qualitative study

2023-04-26T18:17:18+00:00

Blockchain technology is considered a breakthrough and innovative solution to many business related problems and across various economic sectors such as finance, supply chain, retail, health care, tourisBlockm and travel industry, and education. For Small and Medium Enterprises, in particular, blockchain technology adoption could facilitate their digitalization initiatives, reduce transaction and financing costs, and help them access new international markets. In this qualitative exploratory study, the goal was to understand the factors that influence SMEs adoption of blockchain technology in Morocco. Face to face interviews were conducted with six professionals from various sectors of the economy. The Technology-organization-environment framework was used as the theoretical framework of the study. Findings revealed that SMEs intention to adopt blockchain is influenced by perceived benefits, size, culture, technological capabilities, government support, and government regulations. Recommendations for future research included the use of a mixed method approach in data collection and analysis and the integration of other theoretical frameworks in the study of blockchain adoption in Morocco.

ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION OF WOMEN IN LAGOS

2023-04-26T17:43:30+00:00

Abstract

Lagos, the financial hub of Nigeria is home to an estimated 3 million women above the age of 18 years who do not have bank accounts. The Central Bank of Nigeria notes that there are several barriers faced by women in accessing formal bank accounts. Some of these barriers include insufficient mobile money agency networks; lack of national identity means; inadequate digital financial services; untapped opportunities available in microfinance that can serve women and rural people; lack of tailored financial products to meet the needs of the unbanked population; and finally non-digital payments systems, especially G2P and P2G. In addition, reports highlight that a large share of financially excluded women cite religious reasons for not using banks. This study aims to critically investigate the barriers faced by women without bank accounts in Lagos and suggested Islamic banking, an alternative banking institution as a solution. This study will help evaluate the use of Islamic banking tools as a solution to foster financial inclusion for women in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole.

Using a qualitative method, this study surveyed 32 unbanked women in Lagos. The study identified the peculiar barriers to financial inclusion faced by these women who are mainly self-employed and with low levels of education. The barriers to financial inclusion common to women without bank accounts in Lagos are ambiguous account opening documents, lack of acceptable means of identification, long distance of banks and lack of steady source of income. Many of these women also cited religion and marriage as a barrier. This is often reflected in terms of relocation, change of name and switching from formal employment to the cultural home making roles women in this region usually adopt.

The findings of this study provided evidence that unbanked Muslim women in Lagos are aware of Islamic bank’s product offerings and are willing to open account with an Islamic Bank. This agrees with the literature evidence that Islamic finance can improve financial inclusion. However, there are few Islamic bank branches available in Lagos that can solve the long-distance barrier to financial inclusion of these women.

Interestingly, the study discovered that religion is not a significant barrier to financial inclusion of the unbanked women In Lagos, however, religion will play a role in determining their future choice of financial institution.

The Importance of the implementation of financial regulation in crypto currency

2023-10-06T18:28:49+00:00

Research Question and Justification

Why it is very necessary to implement financial regulation in cryptocurrency?
Can financial regulation play a significant role in stabilising the cryptocurrency market?
What would be the post implementation effect of financial regulatory body on crypto currency assets?

Impact of Environmental, Social and Governance Factors on the performance of Fintech Companies in the UK

2023-09-21T10:56:01+00:00

This research proposal aims to carry out research about how financial technology (FinTech) firms in the UK stick to sustainability measures as compared to their counterparts. In addition, to carry out research regarding the effect of sustainability measures on the performance of FinTech companies' stock. Secondary data from peer-reviewed origins would be collected from sources like Financial Times, Bank of England, Bloomberg or the Financial Conduct Authority.

Keywords: Sustainability, Environmental, Social, Governance, Climate change, Fintech.

Factors Driving Consumer Adoption of Savings & Investments FinTech Applications in the UK.

2022-10-22T19:04:12+00:00

Abstract

Financial Technology (Fintech) has become a central element of modern financial life, constantly expanding choices, and shifting ways in which individuals consume and interact with financial services (Leong & Sung, 2018). According to the EY Global FinTech Adoption Index, the percentage of FinTech users is increasing, and has increased significantly from 16.0% in 2015 to 33.0% in 2017 (EY, 2017). A follow up study in 2019 showed that fintech adoption and awareness continues to increase and adoption of FinTech services has reached 64% across the globe (EY, 2019). Technology adoption has become a popular area of study within the information systems literature among researchers in a quest to continually understand the various factors that influence individual acceptance and use of emerging technology (Granic & Marangunic, 2019).

In the financial industry, there is evident shifting and switching from traditional financial outlets to more convenient fintech solutions that is driven by changing customer preferences because of advances in technology (Bernardo, 2017). This research aims to establish key drivers of this shift and factors that explain consumers’ adoption and use of fintech solutions. The identification of the drivers of this migration towards fintech not only gives better insight into motivations of this migration to developers but also from a regulatory perspective could help in monitoring the developments in the financial system and stability of it as a whole.

There is limited empirical studies explaining adoption of Fintech in financial services, (Singh, Sahni, & Kovid, 2020). This research focuses on the technology of savings and investments apps and proposes to create a conceptual framework that extends the generalisability of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (Vankatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003) and Self-Efficacy (Bandura, 1986) theories towards evaluating and understanding factors that drive Fintech adoption by integrating financial consumption attributes such as perceived risk, trust and security alongside the core constructs of UTAUT and Self Efficacy theories. These factors are not included in the theories being tested but are highly pertinent to the study of adoption of fintech in a savings and investment context because of the nature of products involved. This is something that fills a gap in knowledge as Vankatesh, Thong & Xu (2016) highlighted it as needing further research after reviewing the UTAUT theory in 2016 from its original version of 2003.

Cryptocurrency and Innovation: The Relationship with Technology in Light of Risk Aversion and Market Sentiment.

2023-04-26T18:08:29+00:00

The paper performs a (Panel) Moderated Regression, Causality and Cointegration (complete version) test on the relationship between the exchange rate of major selected cryptocurrencies vs. major fiat currencies, and selected technology indices of various geographic areas and economic groups in the world, representative of different countries or areas in the world (Europe) and for different levels of market capitalization. The dataset allows to focus on the comparison pre- and post-Covid19 (complete version), testing the relationship in those two different time frames. The novelty of the study is the use of risk aversion and VIX volatility index (market sentiment) as control variables. Various indices of risk aversion have been developed, presenting different levels of trade-off in terms of availability (ease of calculation) and effectiveness. A good candidate seems to be the Global Risk Appetite Index (GRAI) by Kumar and Persaud (2002). As for the VIX index, it has been widely used as a proxy of market sentiment, but rarely applied to the understanding of currency trends (especially cryptocurrency). Our expectation is to observe some significant moderation effect for some of the indicators considered, in general and when observing the data for different sub-periods. with investors probably trying to hedge equity investments and diversify their portfolios differently, with risk aversion and VIX index to be a driving factor of those choices. We also expect results to be confirmed by the Causality and Cointegration (complete version) test. The paper aims to contribute to the Fintech literature and shed light on the possibilities of diversification offered by tech-related portfolios. As a corollary, it aims to determine how the effect of risk aversion and general market risk sentiment drives those choices.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Technology Index; Risk Appetite; Market Sentiment; Causality; Cointegration; Panel Regression.