Message from the Director

Fintech creates new value by applying cutting-edge technology to financial services. Among its wide spectrum of applications, many such as cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, online settlement, crowdfunding and robo-advisors are starting to replace the roles traditionally played by human employees in banks, securities houses, insurance companies and other financial institutions. In other words, fintech is revolutionising the financial industry, which explains why research on fintech is accelerating at think tanks, consulting firms, financial institutions, central banks, supervisory agencies and IT-related start-ups. We live in exciting times full of potential for changes that can deeply affect our economy and society, indeed our very way of life. To ensure that such changes are for the better, we need solid and comprehensive research to understand and master this new phenomenon.

The Institute for Economic Research at Keio saw this need and seized the opportunity to make an early entry into this young field of research by establishing the Centre for Finance, Technology and Economics at Keio (FinTEK) on June 30, 2017. Keio is the first university in Japan to start an undergraduate course on fintech and create a research centre dedicated to fintech. FinTEK will become a centre of interdisciplinary research and education in fintech by cooperating with other faculties and graduate schools at Keio as well as institutions around the world. Our aim is to promote pioneering research using information communication technology, cryptology, economic theory and data science, and provide policy recommendations as well as empirical evidence on fintech’s social and economic implications. We shall hold conferences, seminars and capstone presentations, turn out fintech-savvy graduates that can hit the ground running, and work closely with the Financial Services Agency as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan government to make Tokyo a leading fintech centre flourishing with start-ups.