Students
AFIN8017 – Digital Finance
2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-intensive, North Ryde
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Guy Schofield
|
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Practice: Digital finance strategy evaluation | 30% | No | 21/08/2025 |
| Skills Development: P2P lending and credit rating analysis | 30% | No | 07/09/2025 |
| Professional Practice: Digital finance research development | 40% | No | 16/09/2025 |
Professional Practice: Digital finance strategy evaluation
Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 21/08/2025
Weighting: 30%
The purpose of this assessment is to enable you to demonstrate the expertise you have acquired in the unit by analysing Digital Finance strategies of a leading Australian company.
You will conduct research on a listed ASX company and provide insights based on the information obtained.
Skills in focus: - Communication and collaboration - Critical thinking and problem solving - Digital skills - Work readiness
Deliverable: Group report [max 1,800 words] Individual presentation [max 20 minutes] Group and individual assessment
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.
Skills Development: P2P lending and credit rating analysis
Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 07/09/2025
Weighting: 30%
The purpose of this assessment is to enable you to develop skills in utilising and applying quantitative analysis techniques.
Using a dataset from a simulated P2P lending platform, you will critically analyse the key factors that affect credit ratings.
Skills in focus: - Communication - Critical thinking and problem solving - Digital skills - Discipline knowledge
Deliverable: Written submission [max 1,200 words] Individual assessment
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.
Professional Practice: Digital finance research development
Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 16/09/2025
Weighting: 40%
The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate the expertise you have acquired in the unit by analysing a specific research topic in digital finance.
You will identify a specific industry issue in digital finance and produce a research proposal.
Skills in focus: - Communication - Critical thinking and problem solving - Discipline knowledge - Work readiness
Deliverable: Research proposal [max 3,000 words] Individual assessment
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
Course Organization
Please refer to iLearn for unit details. This unit is taught in block teaching mode, so please check the schedule on iLearn to ensure the block dates are in your diary. We will meet every Saturday for six consecutive weeks, with morning and afternoon sessions each week.
Learning Approach
Our philosophy is that we attend class to engage in activities that are better undertaken together, in a collaborative setting. The classroom experience is designed to be interactive, practical, and directly applicable to your assessments and future careers in finance.
In this unit, attendance at all sessions is expected. Our in-class work will be in groups and build toward your assessment tasks, providing you with the opportunity to develop your ideas through peer and instructor feedback. Groups are a key aspect of the learning process in this unit. You will work in your assigned groups during class sessions and for the group assessment (not for individual assessments).
Bring to Sessions
A laptop with an adequate battery and internet access
Pre-reading completed, and with questions and observations
Note-taking materials
A sense of curiosity
Unit Schedule
| Week | Topic Indicative Timing | |
| 1 | Foundations of Digital Finance and Industry Landscape | Saturday, 2 August 2025 |
| 2 | Digital Payment Systems and Infrastructure | Saturday, 9 August 2025 |
| 3 | Innovative Financial Intermediaries | Saturday, 16 August 2025 |
| 4 | DeFi & Presentations | Saturday, 23 August 2025 |
| 5 | Data, Intelligence and Automation in Finance | Saturday, 30 August 2025 |
| 6 | The Future of Finance and Industry Impact | Saturday, 6 September 2025 |
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:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Complaints Resolution Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy
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/
Academic Success
Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
- Workshops
- Chat with a WriteWISE peer writing leader
- Access StudyWISE
- Upload an assignment to Studiosity
- Complete the Academic Integrity Module
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:
- IT Support
- Accessibility and disability support with study
- Mental health support
- Safety support to respond to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual assault
- Social support including information about finances, tenancy and legal issues
- Student Advocacy provides independent advice on MQ policies, procedures, and processes
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 2025.04 of the Handbook