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For over a decade, fintech has challenged traditional business models and processes in the financial services industry. The ongoing disruption has necessitated the digital transformation of financial institutions (FIs) to remain an integral part of the financial system. This paradigm shift is not merely a technological update. Still, it signifies a cultural and operational rebirth, compelling FIs to embrace innovation, adaptability, and a customer-centric approach in the digital era. Independent of the business model, FIs must become digitally ambidextrous, offer tailored and dynamic customer experiences, support financial inclusion, and promote an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda while leveraging data and remaining compliant. From digitalization to fintegration, the financial services industry's future is deemed to be an exciting and productive one.

The present study reviews the theoretical and empirical literature about the significance of international migrants' remittance to empirically analyse the effect of remittance on the productivity growth of developing countries using a panel dataset from 1991 to 2021.

The study utilised the data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) to measure nationwide production efficiencies. It first performed a unit root test, cointegration test and pool mean group autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) technique. To assess the robustness of the findings, the study also uses dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified OLS (FMOLS) estimators.

The results demonstrated that remittances are a significant source of funding that promotes innovation [i.e. technological progress (TEC)] and hastens the country's total factor productivity (TFP) growth. However, the study needed to have established the effect of inward remittances on the nation's technical efficiency (EFF).

As remittances encourage innovation and TFP growth (TFPG), the concerned governments must create favourable and enabling economic environments to increase remittance inflows, which will have far-reaching growth repercussions.

The present study emphasises the connection between remittances and productivity growth, the disintegration of TFP, advanced econometric techniques and contribution to research policy. Despite prior literature exploring the effect of remittances on economic growth, a dearth of literature exists on how remittances affect a country's productivity. The output-based MPI methodology used in this study offered a nuanced understanding of how remittances affect many facets of productivity growth in developing nations.

This study attempts to comprehensively analyze the cost Malmquist productivity index of conventional and Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia, the largest dual banking sector in the world, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study employs the novel approach of cost Malmquist productivity index, which focuses on production costs, to measure the change in cost productivity so that the actual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could be captured.

The Saudi Central Bank has successfully mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the Saudi banking sector by implementing several policies and services. This success is reflected in the large positive shift in the production frontier of Saudi banks. Moreover, it was found that Islamic Saudi banks were by far more productive than conventional Saudi banks during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the total cost productivity index (CMPCH) of Islamic Saudi banks starts to decline sharply in the last quarter of 2022 compared to conventional Saudi banks, indicating that Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia are suffering the most from the tighter monetary policy recently implemented by the Saudi Central Bank.

The results provide insights for policymakers and investors on how different types of banks respond differently to economic crises and monetary policy changes. Targeted support measures may be needed to ensure all banks remain productive and efficient.

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to use this innovative methodology to assess the impact of COVID-19 on bank performance in a dual banking sector.

Financial technologies form the heart of considerable disruptive innovation. Fintech is the emerging financial infrastructure for modern business. Big data are the feedstock for artificial intelligence (AI) that drives many fintech sectors – start-up finance, commodities and investment instrumentation, payment systems, currencies, exchange markets/trading platforms, market-failure response forensics, underwriting, syndication, risk assessment, advisory services, banking, financial intermediaries, transaction settlement, corporate disclosure, and decentralized finance. This chapter demonstrates how analyzing big data, largely processed through cloud computing, drives fintech innovations, scholarship, forensics, and public policy. Despite their apparent virtues, some fintech mechanisms can externalize various social costs: flawed designs, opacity/obscurity, social media (SM) influences, cyber(in)security, and other malfunctions. Fintech suffers regulatory lag, the delay following the introduction of novel fintechs and later assessment, development, and deployment of reliable regulatory mechanisms. Big data can improve fintech practices by balancing three key influences: (1) fintech incentives, (2) market failure forensics, and (3) developing balanced public policy resolutions to fintech challenges.

This chapter discusses the evolution of online trading, its application in various market structures, and its benefits and potential concerns. Computers were first used in electronic communication networks among brokers and dealers to make trades and for informational purposes. Online brokers became popular with retail investors as the internet spread. Online trading comes with various trading protocols and order types. It enables traders to automate trading decisions and process data more easily using charting tools and customized programs connected to the broker's infrastructure. Electronic trading allows for greater centralization but can also be accompanied by market fragmentation. Market regulation has affected market structure and is still evolving. Centralization allows for more competitive prices and reduces search costs. Decentralized markets could cope better with asymmetric information.

This chapter uses data from the Scopus database to present a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of fintech research, focusing on publication trends, citation patterns, and thematic clusters within the field. The analysis reveals notable trends, including influential publications, prolific authors, and their affiliations. It identifies and explores publications categorized into 23 distinct themes, representing key areas of inquiry in fintech, such as technological advancements, financial inclusion, innovation, data analytics, sustainability, and regulatory compliance. The study also identifies research gaps, indicating areas within fintech that have received limited scholarly attention. These findings provide valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners. Researchers can better understand the fintech landscape, identify research gaps, and guide future inquiries. Policymakers can develop effective regulations and policies based on identified trends and challenges. Industry practitioners can leverage fintech developments to enhance their strategies and operations.

This chapter first reviews some of the background concepts on central bank digital currency (CBDC) to provide a broad context, before diving into wholesale CBDC often a starting point for central banks to build CBDC prototypes based on distributed ledger technology (DLT), as it involves less complexity in experimentation. This chapter also examines cross-border CBDC, often an extension of wholesale CBDC prototypes based on DLT. The next chapter will then discuss retail CBDC as well as the prospects of economy-wide roll out of CBDC going forward.

This chapter examines possible regulatory updates to address the challenges of monetary sovereignty and singleness of money. These two challenges are particularly pertinent to the new means of payments enabled by the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT). These new means of payment include cryptoassets such as bitcoin and ether, stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The degree to which these new means of payment can be a threat to monetary sovereignty and singleness of money can differ widely, depending on the contexts of the jurisdictions, as well as the details of these new means of payment themselves.

Fintech has revolutionized personal finance, introducing innovative tools that offer unprecedented access, efficiency, and security in managing finances. This chapter explains fintech's personal finance applications, from intuitive budgeting apps and advanced robo-advisors to peer-to-peer payment platforms. It articulates how these tools have shifted the control and management of finances into the hands of consumers, providing real-time financial data, customized investment strategies, improved credit scores, and streamlined transactions that eliminate the need for traditional intermediaries. Furthermore, this chapter features a select list of FinTech50 firms and highlights how individuals can leverage their services. This comprehensive guide is invaluable for individuals seeking to leverage fintech for personal finance optimization and for professionals keen on understanding and navigating the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.