About This Course
Financial Technology (Fintech) is a rapidly growing sector, with an increased number of businesses adopting technologies to improve and/or automate financial services. We see the development of financial technologies daily from using your phone as a payment mechanism to apps that allow real time transactions. Graduates with Fintech skills are in growing demand as businesses become more consumer-focused and adopt further technological developments.
Fintech continues to disrupt traditional business processes and companies are looking for ways to adapt these changes. Studying Banking with Financial Technology allows you to look at the impact global financial system has upon individuals, organisations, markets, the wider economy and the environment.
Businesses are increasingly looking for graduates with analytical skills to help them make informed decisions. By studying Banking with Financial Technology at Bangor University you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of the business environment within a real-world context. This course focuses on developing strong analytical, statistical, and coding skills meaning you’ll graduate with a career-relevant qualification. You’ll learn the practical workings of financial institutions, as well as the economics that underlies them.
This course in Banking and Financial Technology will help you understand how financial markets work, how financial services firms are managed, and the role of financial technology in revolutionising how financial firms create value. We’ll look at the risks and challenges posed by evolving market structures. You will develop a detailed understanding of banking and finance and acquire technical skills which will equip you for a career in the financial and/or technology sectors.
Why choose to study BSc Banking with Financial Technology at Bangor University?
- We’ve designed this new course to meet the needs of today’s job market, you’ll gain practical and relevant skills that make graduates highly employable.
- Bangor University can provide a distinct offering due to our existing strengths in banking, and finance.
- One of the longest established providers of banking and finance teaching in the world, we have a formidable reputation in the field with leading academic research.
- As a smaller Business School, we’re able to offer students more access and time with academic staff than other institutions.
- Our new trading lab gives students the opportunity to learn more about the financial sector by simulating the stock markets right here in Bangor University.
Additional Course Options
This course is available with a Placement Year option where you will study for 1 additional year. The Placement Year is undertaken at the end of the second year and students are away for the whole of the academic year.
The Placement Year provides you with a fantastic opportunity to broaden your horizons and develop valuable skills and contacts through working with a self-sourced organisation relevant to your degree subject. The minimum period in placement (at one or more locations) is seven calendar months; more usually you would spend 10-12 months with a placement provider. You would normally start sometime in the period June to September of your second year and finish between June and September the following year. Placements can be UK-based or overseas and you will work with staff to plan and finalise the placement arrangements.
You will be expected to find and arrange a suitable placement to complement your degree and will be fully supported throughout by a dedicated member of staff at your academic School and the University’s Careers and Employability Services.
You will have the opportunity to fully consider this option when you have started your course at Bangor and can make an application for a transfer onto this pathway at the appropriate time. Read more about the work experience opportunities that may be available to you or, if you have any questions, please get in touch.
This course is available with an International Experience Year option where you will study or work abroad for 1 additional year. You will have ‘with International Experience’ added to your degree title on graduating.
Studying abroad is a great opportunity to see a different way of life, learn about new cultures and broaden your horizons. With international experience of this kind, you’ll really improve your career prospects. There are a wide variety of destinations and partner universities to choose from. If you plan to study in a country where English is not spoken natively, there may be language courses available for you at Bangor and in your host university to improve your language skills.
You will have the opportunity to fully consider this option at any time during your degree at Bangor and make your application. If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch.
Read more about the International Experience Year programme and see the studying or working abroad options on the Student Exchanges section of our website.
Course Content
On this course you’ll develop specialised knowledge and skills concerned with the provision and analysis of information for a variety of decision-making, accountability, managerial, ethical, regulatory, and resource allocation purposes. Emphasis will be given to the analysis and interpretation of data, we’ll look at ‘Big Data’ and prominent issues in data security, data management and ethics.
We will look at banks and the financial market as well as personal finance and banking. This course in Banking with Financial Technology will look into how banks affect the economy at large and examine the role of interest rates and the operations of bond markets, stock markets and foreign exchange markets. There is opportunity to learn about inflation, the rationale for regulating banks and the principles of bank management. A focus will be given to the theory of banking and how to measure, manage and maximise the bank’s value and its risks.
Reflecting real-world challenges, you’ll learn how to write computer code to solve problems in business. You’ll look at how to interrogate datasets and at algorithms and models to draw conclusions. Using simulated and actual market data you’ll gain hands-on practical experience of stock market investment through our simulation workshops.
This course aims to build a solid awareness whilst providing practical experiences to help progression into employment. There will be opportunity to undertake a consultancy project and a particular focus is given to skills development and employability.
How will you learn?
Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and tutorials. There will be a mixture of continuous assessment and written examinations. Students will be expected to collect and analyse information from commercial databases and/or online sources, prepare research projects, write essays, and complete problem-solving exercises which include the use of coding.
What will you study on this course?
In Year 1, students will take credits from topics such as, Business Analytics, Business Analytics Coding, Database Applications in Business and Finance, Discover Economics, Financial Techniques and Analysis and Personal Finance and Banking.
In Year 2, students will take credits from topics such as, Business Analytics, Banks and Financial Markets, Central Banking & Monetary Policy, Data Science, Econometrics, Infrastructure for Data Analytics and Investment and Portfolio Management.
In Year 3, students will take credits from topics such as, Advanced Econometrics, Applied Machine Learning, Bank Management, Consultancy Project, Fintech in banking, finance, investment, insurance and regulation and International Banking.
Please note course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.
Facilities
Databases
Here at the Business School, we have access to some of the best databases, including Bloomberg. Allowing students to use these databases as part of their course improves their learning experience and better prepares them for a career in industry.
Bloomberg Professional
Bloomberg Professional is a global financial database that provdides current and historical data on individual equities, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, currencies, commodities, and futures across both international and domestic markets. It offers in-depth insights into more than 5 million bonds, equities, commodities, currencies, and funds. Users can easily access and download data using an Excel add-in or API. There are daily and monthly limitations on the number of observations that can be downloaded.
Boardex
BoardEx is a comprehensive international corporate governance database that offers online search and analysis facilities focused on the dynamics of company boards. It delivers detailed current and historical biographical information on board members and senior executives, encompassing over 15,000 quoted companies globally. This comprehensive platform also provides insights into board committees, compensation, company details, networking features for both companies, directors and job announcements.
S&P Capital IQ Pro
S&P Capital IQ Pro (previously known as S&P Global Market Intelligence and SNL Financial) offers comprehensive bank and firm data spanning the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. As of 2023, S&P Capital IQ Pro expanded its range to include firm fundamentals, credit ratings, debt choices, and market research. This platform not only offers insights into the broad universe of companies from S&P Capital IQ but also expands the coverage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With S&P Capital IQ Pro, users can access current and historical financial data and news for over 50,000 banks globally. This data can be downloaded using an Excel add-in.
S&P Capital IQ
S&P Capital IQ is a comprehensive platform that provides deep global company insights, credit ratings, and market research with robust tools for risk assessment. It provides comprehensive information of companies, markets, transactions, and professionals across the globe. Specifically, Capital IQ delivers: Global company data, including fundamental financials, fixed income, estimates, and ownership details. Qualitative data that highlights key developments, transactions, profiles, individual associations, private equity; and a comprehensive spectrum of macroeconomic and commodity data. This synergy of information makes it an indispensable tool for industry professionals. This data can be downloaded using an Excel add-in.
S&P RatingsDirect
Current and historical credit ratings include public finance coverage from 2007, global issuers, and structured finance from 1922.
Refinitiv Eikon (inc Datastream)
Refinitiv Workspace, part of Thomson Reuters, is a comprehensive platform for financial and economic insights. It provides market quotes, earnings estimates, financial fundamentals, press releases, transaction data, corporate filings, ownership profiles, and in-depth research. Eikon/Datastream offers rich data for international companies, tracing back to the 1960s. Features and data from Thomson Reuters, previously accessed through Thomson One - like mergers and acquisitions, loan data, ownership details, and private equity - can be found in Refinitiv Workspace. Data can be downloaded via an Excel add-in.
Orbis Bank Focus
Orbis Bank Focus, provided by Bureau van Dijk, is a comprehensive database of banks globally. Its data is compiled from a mix of annual reports, varied information providers, and authoritative regulatory sources. At present, Orbis Bank Focus boasts detailed data on more than 38,000 banks — encompassing around 30,000 from the US and over 10,000 from outside the US. For banks that are listed, a historical record spanning 5 years is provided, while unlisted banks have data covering the past 3 years.
Business Source Premier
Full text coverage of nearly 7,600 business publications, including full text coverage of over 1,100 peer-reviewed, scholarly journals. Coverage back to 1922 in some cases.
Emerald Insight
Emerald Insight provides abstracts and full text articles from academic journals covering the subject areas of marketing, management, human resources, commercial music, quality, economics, information management, operations, engineering, production and property, education, health and social care.
Financial Times
News, analysis and comment from the online edition of the world’s leading global business publication
Gale-Business Insights
Interactive tools and in-depth analysis of the history, performance, and opportunities of thousands of companies and industries. Students will find trusted information from premium sources including market research, case studies, SWOT analyses, investment and financial reports, as well as articles from top magazines and industry journals.
IBIS World
comprehensive industry-market research database which covers every US industry with a 5-digit NAICS code. IBISWorld offers also similarly detailed research on selected industries in China and worldwide.
Mintel Oxygen
UK market research providing analysis for a wide range of consumer products (food, drink, household, health, electronics), leisure trends, financial services and retailing.
Lexis
This database includes full-text case-law and legislation for the UK, US (Federal and State), EU and other jurisdictions. It also provides access to a large number of full-text legal journals, and local and national UK newspapers. Includes Halsburys Laws of England.
UK Parliament: Research Briefings
The database continuously produces in-depth and impartial reports which are published as briefing papers on the Parliament website.
Westlaw
Covers the Legal Journals Index, the Current Law indexes, all acts in force from 1267 onwards and statutory instruments from 1949, together with UK cases and an increasing number of full-text journals and books. The American part of the database contains many full-text journals.
Orbis Europe
Orbis Europe, a subset of Bureau van Dijk’s global 'Orbis', is a comprehensive platform tailored to analyse and compare both quoted and private companies across Europe. Encompassing data from 56 European countries, it provides detailed information on public and private banks, insurance, and industrial companies. With over 105 million companies catalogued and weekly updates, this resource offers expansive corporate ownership structures and comparability features. Users can research, analyse, and strategically compile lists of companies through an array of search criteria, including line items from financial filings.
General University Facilities
Library and Archive Services
Our four libraries provide a range of attractive study environments including collaborative work areas, meeting rooms and silent study spaces.
We have an extensive collection of books and journals and many of the journals are available online in full-text format.
We house one of the largest university-based archives not only in Wales, but also the UK. Allied to the Archives is the Special Collections of rare printed books.
Learning Resources
There is a range of learning resources available, supported by experienced staff, to help you in your studies.
The University’s IT Services provides computing, media and reprographics facilities and services including:
- Over 1,150 computers for students, with some PC rooms open 24 hours a day
- Blackboard, a commercial Virtual Learning Environment, that makes learning materials available on-line.
Course Costs
General University Costs
Home (UK) students
- The cost of a full-time undergraduate course is £9,000 per year (2021/22 entry and 2022/23 entry).
- The fee for all placement, international, and sandwich years is £1,350 (2021/22 and 2022/23).
- More information on fees and finance for Home (UK) students.
International (including EU) students
Additional Costs
There are also some common additional costs that are likely to arise for students on all courses, for example:
- If you choose to study abroad or take the International Experience Year as part of your course.
- If you attend your Graduation Ceremony, there will be a cost for gown hire (£25-£75) and cost for additional guest tickets (c.£12 each).
Course-specific additional costs
Depending on the course you are studying, there may be additional course-specific costs that you will be required to meet. These fall into three categories:
- Mandatory Costs: these are related to a particular core or compulsory module that you’ll be required to complete to achieve your qualification e.g. compulsory field trips, uniforms for students on placement, DBS Check.
- Necessarily Incurred Costs: these may not be experienced by all students, and will vary depending on the course e.g. professional body membership, travel to placements, specialist software, personal safety equipment.
- Optional Costs: these depend on your choice of modules or activity and they are shown to give you an indication of the optional costs that may arise to make sure your choice is as informed as possible. These can include graduation events for your course, optional field trips, Welcome Week trips.
Entry Requirements
GCSE Maths at grade C/4 required if not demonstrated by the Level 3 qualification.
Offers are tariff based, 104 - 136 tariff points from a Level 3 qualification* e.g.:
- A Levels: General Studies and Key Skills not normally accepted
- BTEC National Extended Diploma: DMM - DDD
- Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: DMM - DDD
- International Baccalaureate Diploma: accepted
- Access: pass required
- Welsh Baccalaureate: We will accept this qualification in conjunction with other level 3 qualifications
- T Levels: T Levels in a relevant subject considered on a case-by-case basis
- Extended Project Qualification: Points can include a relevant Extended Project (EPQ) but must include a minimum 2 full A-levels, or equivalent.
We are happy to accept combinations of the qualifications listed above, as well as alternative Level 3 qualifications such as City & Guilds, Access and Cambridge Technical Diplomas.
We also welcome applications from mature learners.
International Candidates: International Candidates: school leaving qualifications that are equivalent to A levels/Level 3 and/or college diplomas are accepted from countries worldwide (subject to minimum English Language requirements). More information can be found on our International pages.
*For a full list of accepted Level 3 qualifications, go to www.ucas.com.
General University Requirements
To study for a degree, you’ll be asked for a minimum of UCAS Tariff points. For a fuller explanation of the UCAS Tariff Points, please see www.ucas.com.
We accept students with a wide range of qualifications and backgrounds and consider each application individually.
All students need to have good basic skills and the University also values IT and communication skills.
As part of the University’s policy, we consider applications from prospective disabled students on the same grounds as all other students.
We also consider applications from mature students who can demonstrate the motivation and commitment to study a university programme. Each year we enrol a significant number of mature students. For more information about studying as a mature student, see our Studying at Bangor section of the website.
EU and International Students' Entry Requirements
For detailed guidance on the entry requirements for EU and International Students, including the minimum English Language entry requirement, please visit the Entry Requirements by Country pages. International applicants can also visit the International Education Centre section of our website for further details.
Bangor University offers International Incorporated Bachelor Degrees for International students whose High School qualification is not equivalent to the UK school leaving qualification. The first year (or Year 0) is studied at Bangor University International College, an embedded College on our University campus and delivered by Oxford International Education Group.
Careers
On graduating, students are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for a successful career in industry or academia. Financial Technology (Fintech) is a continuously growing sector and there is a large demand for graduates with skills in this area. This course is focused on providing students with a career-relevant qualification and will equip students with professional values and the ability to work in a team as well as under self-guidance.
Skills you’ll learn on this course;
- financial knowledge
- problem-solving
- analysis
- teamwork
- coding.
Students typically go on to careers within the financial sector, however this course provides an enhanced range of transferable, intellectual and study skills that can lead to other careers in industry. Some careers associated with a degree in financial technology include, data specialist, financial or business analyst, blockchain developer, app developer, cyber security specialist, machine learning engineer/analyst and risk and compliance expert.
Opportunities at Bangor
The University’s Careers and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions.
The Bangor Employability Award (BEA)
The BEA is a comprehensive online course that you can work through at your own pace, taking you through all the steps you need to take to explore, prepare and apply for your dream career.
Internships
Bangor University runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments.
Student Volunteering
Volunteering widens your experience and improves your employability. Find out more about volunteering on the Students’ Union’s website.
