Una persona analiza gráficos financieros en su teléfono móvil frente a una tablet con datos de mercado.
Summer School

Fintech and the Future of Banking and Finance

Discover innovation where finance meets cutting-edge technology

  • Home
  • Fintech and the Future of Banking and Finance

  • Learning

    Face-to-face

  • Language

    English

  • Start

    29 June - 10 July 2026

  • Credits

    6 ECTS

Fintech and the Future of Banking and Finance Summer Programme

Who is it aimed at?

University students and professionals interested in innovation and technology in the financial services industry.

Whether you are preparing for a career in financial services, aspiring to launch a fintech startup, or simply eager to understand how digital innovation is reshaping finance, the programme is designed to explore the transformation of banking and finance through technology. A background in economics, finance, or data science is helpful but not required.

Why choose this programme?

Understand how technology is reshaping financial services

  • Explore how banks, nonbank intermediaries, and fintechs create value in a digital economy. Gain insights into the forces driving transformation, from open banking and embedded finance to AI, blockchain, and decentralized finance.

Experience real-world fintech innovation

  • Engage with real-world case studies to see how new technologies are challenging traditional business models. Understand how payment systems, robo-advisors, and digital asset platforms operate in practice.

Develop hands-on analytical and innovation skills

  • Participate in workshops and innovation labs where you’ll map the global fintech ecosystem, benchmark digital versus traditional business models, and design your own fintech concept. Learn to identify risks, synergies, and regulatory challenges through practical teamwork and mentoring.

Learn from experts in the field

  • Sessions are led by CUNEF faculty and industry practitioners combining academic insight with real-world expertise. Through mentoring and project-based learning, you’ll gain a comprehensive view of the technologies and business models driving the future of finance.


Learning Objectives

1

Explore the banking and financial services ecosystem and analyze its digital transformation.

2

Understand the value drivers in the business models of banks, non-bank financial intermediaries, Fintech companies, and insurance firms.

3

Grasp the financial technology (Fintech) and data analytics innovations that are reshaping the financial services sector.

4

Identify innovation opportunities in the delivery of financial services through APIs, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Fintech collaboration.

5

Recognize current trends, strategies, and best practices in innovation and financial services management.

6

Examine real-world case studies and learn about the innovations transforming the financial services industry.

Fotografía aérea del Campus Almansa de CUNEF Universidad, rodeado de zonas verdes

Methodology

The programme blends theory with applied learning through interactive lectures, workshops, and case studies. Each day early sessions provide conceptual foundations, while end-of-day workshops and end-of-week innovation labs encourage participants to apply their learning to real-world challenges. Students work in teams to design fintech solutions, analyze real industry cases, and engage directly with leading experts from the financial technology ecosystem.

Course program

Day 1. Value drivers in a digital economy

  • Value drivers for banks, nonbank financial intermediaries, fintech, and insurance companies
  • The impact of digital transformation on profitability and risk

Workshop: Mapping the global financial services landscape: incumbents, challengers and new entrants. 

Day 2. The Fintech ecosystem

  • A taxonomy of Fintech across financial services: digital payments, lending platforms, crowdfunding, Insurtech, and Wealth-tech
  • Cross-industry disruptions: Big-tech, telecoms and e-commerce
  • Revenue models and scalability challenges

Case Study: Buy Now Pay Later challenging traditional credit models

Day 3. Enabling technologies: digital innovation, big data analytics and artificial intelligence

  • Blockchain, asset tokenization, and decentralized finance
  • AI, Machine Learning, and Big Data for predictive analytics

Workshop: Mapping the use case and adoption of new technologies in financial services

Day 4. Banks and Fintech Integration

  • Competition, technology and regulation
  • Open banking and embedded finance models
  • Financial innovation, consumer protection and financial stability

Case Study: Revolut and its evolution from FX app to a full service financial platform

Day 5. Innovation Lab – Part I

  • Teamwork: Defining and designing a fintech concept across financial services
  • Mentoring session with faculty and guest practitioners

Day 6. Payment and digital money

  • Cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and CBDCs
  • Frictionless payments and instant transfers

Case Study: Stripe and the globalization of digital payments for startups and SMEs

Day 7. Asset management and insurtech

  • Robo-advisors and algorithm-driven portfolio management
  • Data-driven underwriting and insurance

Workshop: Benchmarking robo-advisors vs. traditional asset managers, relative performance, competitive advantages and challenges

Day 8. Banking-as-a-service business models

  • API-driven integration of financial and non-financial services
  • Drivers of value for banks, businesses and customers
  • Use-cases, applications and best practices

Case Study: BBVA’s Open Platform

Day 9. Decentralized finance (DeFi)

  • Core financial services without intermediaries: smart contracts, liquidity pools, and automated market makers
  • Tokenization and fractional ownership of securities, real estate and commodities

Case Study: Santander’s Blockchain-Issued Bond

Day 10. Innovation Lab – Part II

  • Team presentations to faculty and industry guests
  • Feedback and closing roundtable

Life at CUNEF Universidad

At CUNEF Universidad, you will find an environment that supports and encourages learning and professional development, with the sole purpose of enhancing your talent.

For more than 50 years, CUNEF’s guiding principles have been the specialisation of its academic offering, the excellence of its students, professors and researchers, and its international vision. In the next 50 years, CUNEF Universidad intends to follow these same principles, combined with: academic rigour, to be a benchmark in teaching and research; dedication, to become a driving force for research and innovation; plurality, to integrate different points of view, and encourage transversality and collaboration in decision-making; and equity, to guarantee equal opportunities through a scholarship and financial aid system that enables the institution to shape leaders capable of transferring these values to their environment.

Why come to Madrid?

Madrid is a vibrant city with a vast cultural heritage and many sights and activities to explore:

  • Landscape of Light (Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Retiro Park)
  • Wide range of cultural activities (Opera, Theatre, Ballet)
  • Unique monuments and buildings (Royal Palace, Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá)
  • Culinary venues