Against the backdrop of regulatory developments, innovations in technology have significantly reshaped the finance landscape across the world, upending long-established orders of asset transformation. The economic processes in the finance sector are inextricably linked to the wellbeing of everyone in a modern economy. Therefore, our ongoing understanding of the evolution of the sector is non-negotiable. Academics, finance experts, and policymakers have a responsibility to lead this drive.
The Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations at the University of Edinburgh Business School is organising the Edinburgh Financial Technology Conference to stimulate debate and research on financial innovation and the digital economy and how they impact welfare. The conference will bring together academics, policymakers, and finance professionals to share new insights and discuss the economic issues related to the application of technology to the practice of finance in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
The two-day conference will include keynote lectures, a policy-oriented panel discussion on how academic research can help accelerate innovation in the finance sector for societal benefit, and presentations of research papers.
We invite the submission of extended abstracts (approximately 5 pages) but also welcome full papers. Your paper should be submitted electronically no later than Thursday 26 March 2026.
Topics
We welcome theoretical and empirical contributions on topics including, but not limited to:
- The application of AI and Machine Learning in finance
- The application of distributed ledger technologies in finance
- Cryptofinance
- Cyber risk in finance
- The microstructure of modern financial markets: algorithmic/high frequency trading, dark trading, blockchain settlements etc.
- Behavioural economics in financial technology
- Alternative data (structured and unstructured datasets)
- Crowdsourcing and investment strategy
- New exchange traded financial derivatives
- Financial stability risks from the development of FinTech
- RegTech
- Open banking
Key dates
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Monday 24 November 2025 | Call for papers opens |
| Monday 2 March 2026 | Early registration opens |
| Thursday 26 March 2026 | Paper submission deadline |
| Thursday 30 April 2026 | Notification of paper acceptance |
| Thursday 16 July 2026 | Early registration closes |
| Tuesday 18 August 2026 | Registration closes |
| Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 September 2026 | Conference |
Paper Submissions
Guidance and details on how to submit your paper will be available soon.
Contact us
Events Team
University of Edinburgh Business School
FinTechConf@business-school.ed.ac.uk