Program Overview

FINTECH AND DIGITAL ECONOMICS REGULATION

The course aims to provide students with the adequate tools to understand and critically analyze from the legal point of view the challenges that technological evolution entails for the financial sector, with the objective of acquiring useful skills in the future working environment.

OVERVIEW

The course will focus on the Italian and European law applicable to Fintech and, therefore, to financial services provided through the use of the most important, recent, and continuously evolving technologies, underlying the main legal issues and possible solutions. The entire course will be offered in English.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the adequate tools to understand and critically analyze from the legal point of view the challenges that technological evolution entails for the financial sector, with the objective of acquiring useful skills to apply in the future working environment. Students, after having refreshed the bases of banking regulation and studied investment services and financial markets laws, will apply such knowledge to the context of the main Fintech categories, delving into the most significant aspects.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Knowledge and understanding: the students will acquire adequate knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and rules in the area of banking law and capital markets applied to digital economy, fintech, and sustainability.
• Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: the students will be able to apply the knowledge to practical cases, conduct research, and understand and solve technical issues emerging in practice in deploying technology to the financial sector.
• Critical and autonomous thinking: the students will develop the ability to use and apply their knowledge from a theoretical and practical point of view in different contexts, with autonomous critical thinking.
• Communication skills: the students will acquire the ability to use the technical language used by lawyers and by the financial sector to communicate with professionals, experts, but also the general public.
• Learning skills: the students will develop learning skills which will allow them to keep deepening independently new issues and future applications in the area of financial innovation and to adequately deal with the challenges that might emerge in their future working context.

PREREQUISITES

Previous basic knowledge of EU law, business law, and contracts is recommended but not essential.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons and seminars will be used, with active participation of students, role-playing, instant polling, case-based learning, and team-based learning.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part I: First Overview/Background

• Banking sector, financial markets, and insurance: general principles as regards regulation and supervision in Italy and at European level.
• Client protection.

Part II: Fintech and Financial Regulation (General)

• Fintech and digital economy: overview.
• Fintech and the law: main legal issues, regulatory and supervisory context.

Part III: Analysis of Specific Fintech in Relation to Relevant Financial Regulation

• Platform economy: digital platform in general and specifically in the financial sector.
• Blockchain, virtual currencies, and tokens: DLT and application in the financial sector.
• Artificial intelligence, big data: main applications in the financial field and legal issues.
• Fintech banks and authorization.
• Digital payments: banks, PSP/EMP, credit cards, and fintech innovations.
• Big tech and financial services: big tech entering the banking and payment sectors.

Part IV: New Frontiers: Green Fintech/Sustainable Digital Finance

• Sustainable development and UN SDGs: EU policies in favor of sustainable development.
• The role of sustainable finance in achieving the UN SDGs.
• The EU sustainable finance action plan and strategy.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Slides and recommended material will be available through Aulaweb 2025/2026. For the general part on financial regulation, students might refer to specific handbooks on European banking law and European capital markets law.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

• Eugenia Macchiavello (President)
• Matteo Gargantini
• Christian Mezzano
• Andrea Pericu
• Chiara Valenti (Substitute)

LESSONS

Lessons start in September 2025. The timetable for this course is available on the Portale EasyAcademy.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam, but active participation in class and presentations and comments at seminars will be taken into account for the final grade of students regularly attending classes.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the exam, students will be assessed based on their knowledge about the topics covered in class, as well as their understanding of the digital finance market, forces, and rationales behind regulatory frameworks adopted in this area.

Exam Schedule

• 16/12/2025
• 19/01/2026
• 02/02/2026
• 26/05/2026
• 10/06/2026
• 06/07/2026
• 07/09/2026

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please refer to Aulaweb and ask the professor for further information not included in the teaching schedule.

Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals

• Decent work and economic growth
• Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
• Responsible consumption and production
• Climate action
• Partnerships for the goals

OpenBadge

• SOFT SKILLS - Personale avanzato 1 - A
• SOFT SKILLS - Sociale avanzato 1 - A
• SOFT SKILLS - Creazione progettuale base 1 - A
• SOFT SKILLS - Imparare a imparare base 1 - A
• SOFT SKILLS - Alfabetica avanzato 1 - A