Call for Presentations or Papers

Submission deadline: November 15, 2021

Submission Email: fintechconference-group@ucsc.edu 

The speed at which the global financial landscape is changing is accelerating. Computing power and communication technologies have already reshaped the financial system and are now facilitating game-changing technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies. However, while these technologies and approaches can enhance financial access globally and limit systemic risk, they also bring potential costs. This new financial environment is evolving in a faster and more decentralized manner than any prior financial architecture, constantly challenging our understanding of its potential benefits, risks, and costs. Building communication and debate channels among regulators, industry, and academia is critical to developing a safe, fair, efficient, and transparent digital financial system. 

To contribute to this conversation, this conference brings together top experts and leaders from all three market participant groups: policymakers and regulators, industry, and academia. The goal is to provide a venue for a productive dialogue among all parties, where market participants, academics, and regulators can discuss each other’s concerns and experiences from equal ground and share knowledge on the current state and potential of Fintech. We seek to foster collaboration and debate on key Fintech topics including efficient and fair regulation, financial inclusion, open banking and data privacy, market design for blockchains-based markets and crypto ETFs, central banking with digital currencies, climate impact considerations, among others.

Submit a Presentation or Paper

Given the multisector and multidisciplinary nature of the conference, we plan to have an event where different sessions can have different formats. Some sessions will be led by academics presenting cutting-edge research. Other industry- or government-led sessions will have a discussion format, where an expert presents on a challenge or trend in Fintech and other experts and the public engage in a structured conversation. The target audience for this conference is industry professionals, regulators, and academics.

We will accept: 

  • Proposals for expert presentations on current challenges or important trends in Fintech 
  • Academic papers or extended abstracts on any of the topics listed below or related topics, or
  • Proposals for discussion sessions on any of the topics listed below or related topics. 

All submissions should have a description or abstract of at least 200 words. Proposals for discussion sessions or presentations that are not accompanied by an academic paper should clearly outline a topic for discussion, the main issue, concern, product or innovation that gives rise to the discussion, and the proposer’s perspective on the topic. We accept submissions in Word, PDF, and PowerPoint format. For discussion proposals, we will also accept submissions written in an email’s body. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2021 at midnight Pacific Time. Submit your presentation description, paper or abstract using the following email: fintechconference-group@ucsc.edu. For comments and inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at the same email address. 

In line with the conference’s goal to build a dialogue among all relevant actors, we encourage submissions from individuals and organizations from underrepresented voices and from a diverse range of countries and backgrounds.

Conference Topics

We welcome presentations or papers describing or analyzing Fintech, broadly defined as novel financial services development or delivery leveraging digital technology. Specific topics include, but are not limited to: 

  • Fintech and access and inclusion to financial services 
  • Challenges and opportunities of open banking (including topics on data privacy)
  • International experience in Fintech regulation (including regulatory arbitrage)
  • Decentralized finance (DeFi) and its impact on systemic risks
  • Access to payment systems, competition, and Bank/Retail co-branding
  • The current state of and trends in Fintech (developments; challenges; avenues for growth; market failures, etc.)
  • Experimental approaches to market design in Fintech and related topics.

Speakers

  • Christine Parlour – UC Berkeley 
  • Ana De Sousa – Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (TBC)
  • Carlos Lopez-Moctezuma Jassan – BanCoppel CEO (TBC) 

Date & Location

  • Conference Date: March 4 – 5, 2022
  • Location: San Francisco State University Seven Hills Center – 800 Font Blvd. San Francisco, CA 94132. We will also livestream scheduled events.

Organizers

  • Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (FRBSF)
  • Lam Larsen FinTech Initiative at San Francisco State University (SFSU) 
  • The Center for Analytical Finance (CAFIN) at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) 

Scientific Committee

  • Todd Feldman (SFSU)
  • Ana De Sousa (FRBSF)
  • Michael Imerman (FRBSF)
  • Brenda Samaniego de la Parra (UCSC)
  • Kristian Lopez Vargas (UCSC)
  • Nirvikar Singh (UCSC)
  • Eric M. Aldrich (Amazon)