Students

AFIN8017 – Digital Finance

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-intensive, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Simon Wong
simon.wong@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(Admission to MBkgFin or MCom and 20cp at 6000 level) or (Admission to MActPrac and 20cp at 8000 level)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The digital technology revolution is rapidly transforming the financial industry and the use of digital technologies is becoming the norm. Disruptive technologies are impacting not only the way financial intermediaries operate, but also the way payment system works. Such technologies enable you to monetize almost anything. This unit covers the fundamentals of the innovative financial intermediaries such as peer to peer lending, crowdfunding and digital payment technologies. This unit also provides an overview of digital payment schemes and how digital payment system integrates with traditional payment technologies.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Understand the fundamentals of digital payment systems and digital financial services.
  • ULO2: Explore innovative financial intermediaries such as peer to peer lending, crowdfunding and other new emerging systems.
  • ULO3: Evaluate the impacts and the challenges of new digital finance on financial institutions and business.
  • ULO4: Work productively in a group to assess the adoption and impacts of digital financial services to financial institutions and business.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Case Study 30% No Week 4
Data Analysis Project 30% No Week 6
Research Proposal 40% No Week 9

Case Study

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 30%

Students will work in groups to conduct a case study analysis on a digital finance challenge. Students will produce a group report that should not exceed 1,800 words and make a presentation (each student will be required to present the findings individually).

50% of the marks will be based on individual contribution to the report and individual presentation.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the fundamentals of digital payment systems and digital financial services.
  • Explore innovative financial intermediaries such as peer to peer lending, crowdfunding and other new emerging systems.
  • Evaluate the impacts and the challenges of new digital finance on financial institutions and business.
  • Work productively in a group to assess the adoption and impacts of digital financial services to financial institutions and business.

Data Analysis Project

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 30%

Students will conduct a data analysis on a particular project and write a report regarding the findings of their analysis. The report should not exceed 1,200 words.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the fundamentals of digital payment systems and digital financial services.
  • Explore innovative financial intermediaries such as peer to peer lending, crowdfunding and other new emerging systems.
  • Evaluate the impacts and the challenges of new digital finance on financial institutions and business.

Research Proposal

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 40%

Students will produce a research proposal based on research into contemporary digital finance platforms, its range of services and challenges. The research proposal should not exceed 1,500 words.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the fundamentals of digital payment systems and digital financial services.
  • Explore innovative financial intermediaries such as peer to peer lending, crowdfunding and other new emerging systems.
  • Evaluate the impacts and the challenges of new digital finance on financial institutions and business.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

There will be two 3-hour seminar sessions every week for the first 6 weeks and one session in week 7.

Lecture notes will be available on iLearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.04 of the Handbook