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£3m Fintech Research Centre launched to support sector transformation

A new £3m Fintech Research Centre is to be launched at Nottingham Business School (NBS) to collaborate with organisations and carry out cutting edge academic research which informs policy and practice in the fintech and banking sector.

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    The Centre will study the rapidly evolving fintech sector with a view to engaging with organisations and relevant policy and regulatory bodies

    The Centre aims to research the rapid and transformative effect of fintech on the competitive environment in banking and financial services, on service delivery and the supplier-customer relationship.

    Themes will include the impact of fintech on the nature and dynamics of competition and on the efficiency of service delivery, the implications for the structure and operations of banks and other financial service providers, the attitude of consumers to new delivery modes, issues of digital and data security and the emergence of a new regulatory agenda.

    The Centre will harness its academic capabilities and its network of industry partners in interrogating these questions and will disseminate its research findings across academic, business and policymaking communities.

    Its research will both inform and be informed by contemporary practice, whilst embodying the highest academic standards in terms of research rigour and integrity. The work of the Centre will also underpin innovations in undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience programmes. A formal launch event will take place later this year.

    Professor James Devlin
    Professor James Devlin

    The Centre will be directed by Professor James Devlin who will be joining NBS, part of Nottingham Trent University, from the University of Leicester, where he is currently serving as Dean of the School of Business. Professor Devlin has long-standing research interests in the areas of consumer decision making and behaviour in financial services, policy issues in financial services and firm strategy in the sector. His recent work has focussed on trust, fairness, professionalism and ethics in financial services. He has a track record of research publications and the generation of research funding, as well as senior-level engagement with the practitioner and policymaking sectors.

    Professor Alistair Bruce, Associate Dean of Research at NBS, said: “NTU’s £3 million strategic investment will help establish NBS as a major player in fintech, and we will harness the deep connections with our industrial partners to positively impact both policy and practice in this fast-developing sector.”

    Professor Baback Yazdani, Executive Dean of NBS said: “NBS has a long tradition of combining academic rigour with the worlds of practice and policy and we aim to recruit top researchers to focus on answering some of the underlying questions that will shape the fin tech sector for many years to come.”

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      About Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University

      Nottingham Business School (NBS) at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a world leader in experiential learning and personalisation of business, management and economics education and research, combining academic excellence with positive impact on people, business and society.  NBS has an unrivalled level of engagement with business, public and voluntary organisations and thus is known as the business school for business. With more than 6,000 students, NBS is also one of UK’s largest business schools.

      NBS is accredited by EQUIS and AACSB, which are internationally recognised hallmarks of excellence and quality for business education. The School is one of only six UK business schools recognised as a PRME Champion and held up as an exemplar by the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME).

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.

      NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

      The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

      It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

      The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.

    Published on 14 September 2021
    • Category: Press office; Research; Nottingham Business School