We build tools that governments use, run programmes that train industry leaders, and partner with companies and institutions that want to understand how financial technology is transforming our world.

Initiatives and programmes

The Centre for Financial Technology's convening power extends well beyond research publications — we bring together academics, innovators, regulators and industry leaders through a growing portfolio of programmes, events and partnerships designed to translate rigorous research into real-world impact.

  • Annual Financial Technology Conference: The Centre for Financial Technology's flagship academic conference brings together researchers, regulators and industry leaders to debate the questions shaping the future of financial markets. Our June 2026 conference, themed "Payments, Digital Assets, AI and the Future of Financial Markets", drew speakers from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, LSE, MIT, INSEAD, UCL, the University of Cambridge, Toulouse School of Economics, McGill University and the University of Warwick, among others. The evening industry panel — moderated by Charlotte Crosswell OBE — featured the former MD of the Payment Systems Regulator, the Global Head of Government Affairs of a leading global payments platform, the Director General of The Payments Association, and the Chairman of the Digital Monetary Institute.
  • UK-India-Sri Lanka AgriTech Hackathon: Co-hosted with Professor Thrish Nanayakkara at the Dyson School of Engineering and funded by the ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Global Connect Fund, the hackathon brought together 72 innovators from three countries to tackle challenges in agricultural technology.
  • Building and Commercialising MedTech IP: A seminar co-hosted with the Dyson School of Engineering. The seminar featured Keerthi Kodithuwakku, CEO of Jendo Innovations — a Sri Lankan biomedical technology company recognised by WIPO, WHO and ITU and the first to receive regulatory clearance for a locally invented Class II medical device.
  • Global Academic Engagement: In Spring 2026, Director of the Centre for Financial Technology Gilles Chemla, presented at Harvard Economics, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Boston College and Boston University on stablecoins, tokenisation and AI. Researchers from the Centre have also delivered keynotes and panels across Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, China, Canada, Portugal, Germany, Cyprus, Luxembourg and the United States.

Industry and government engagement

The Centre for Financial Technology's partnerships with industry and government are active drivers of research quality, relevance and ambition. Each engagement surfaces new questions, unlocks new data and creates opportunities for research.

We regularly work with industry and government partners to deliver bespoke upskilling programmes and applied research projects — ensuring that the most consequential questions in financial technology are informed by both academic rigour and real-world practitioner insight.

Recent examples include:

  • Investment Banking Advisory Board: Provision of three themed keynote lectures to the quarterly Advisory Board meeting of a leading global investment bank, addressing the strategic implications of AI, digital assets and regulatory change.
  • AI & Digital Transformation Briefing: A senior management briefing to a leading investment bank's strategic priorities team on technology and AI adoption, digital transformation and regulatory risk, directly informing the Centre for Financial Technology's research agenda on AI in financial services.
  • Payments Infrastructure & Stablecoins: Keynote presentation and panel participation for one of the world's leading payments infrastructure companies, covering payment innovation, regulatory friction and the commercial realities of stablecoin adoption.
  • “Back to University at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ": A three-day residential executive education programme for a leading global FinTech's 25 international clients, delivered on campus at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ for two consecutive years, focused on upskilling senior practitioners around digital assets, regulation and the future of financial infrastructure.
  • FinTech Accelerator Programme: A 12-week programme for a leading Asian payment services provider, delivered to a 30-person international cohort across in-person and online formats, extending the Centre for Financial Technology's research perspective into Southeast Asian payments infrastructure and developing market ecosystems.
  • Executive Education in Brazil: Bespoke executive education programmes for two of Brazil's leading credit unions, addressing corporate governance and technology transformation in cooperative financial institutions, deepening the Centre for Financial Technology's understanding of financial inclusion dynamics in large emerging markets.

Research partnerships

Citi

Citi was the founding partner of the Digital Money Index (DMI).  Together, we tracked digital money readiness across 113 countries, producing annual research that governments, financial institutions and businesses use to understand and improve their digital readiness. The 2022 DMI found that digitising a quarter of identified financial flows could unlock between $350 billion and $400 billion in annual savings to public and retail sectors globally.

CitiSPRITE+ network

Professor Deeph Chana is Co-Director of SPRITE+, an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) multiyear networking grant on Security, Privacy, Identity and Trust in the Digital Economy, in partnership with the universities of Manchester, Southampton, Lancaster and Belfast.

Fintech Network of Excellence

An open network connecting ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's researchers with students, educators, innovators, regulators and industry partners to accelerate financial innovation. Acting as a force-multiplier for its members, the Network links research problems to ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's world-class researchers and produces thought leadership on the future of financial systems.