Cardiff Fintech Research Group
We aim to become an internationally leading institute that promotes interdisciplinary and innovative Fintech research.
Financial technology (Fintech) combines innovative business models and computer technology to improve financial service. Since its emergence, it brings a wave of creative destruction that substantially changes the landscape of finance and have significant implications for the economy.
For example, the sudden rise of cryptocurrencies (eg Bitcoin), which compete with the fiat currencies and disrupt the existing payment system, poses great challenges to central banks and commercial banks.
Cardiff Fintech Research Group (CFRG) consists of 13 full-time academics at Cardiff University across the areas of finance, investments, quantitative methods and financial mathematics. Our Research Group encompasses several PhD students who are completing their doctoral research in areas related to Fintech.
Since its inception, CFRG has engaged in innovative and industrially relevant research and provided expertise to public and private sectors in Wales and beyond. Through links with Fintech Wales, CFRG has been involved in several projects and initiatives to promote Fintech innovations and solutions in Wales.
The Cardiff University Bitcoin Database or CUBID – created by Dr Hossein Jahanshahloo - is the first platform of its kind to allow users to access structured Bitcoin network data without advanced IT skills.
In Spring 2020, CFRG co-hosted with Fintech Wales the First Fintech Conference in Wales which attracted a large number of participants and featured speakers from the government, academia, and companies such as Microsoft. Please see the FinTech Wales AI for FinTech event on YouTube.
Aims
- Raise Cardiff Business School’s reputation as a national and international centre for Fintech research.
- Facilitate cross-disciplinary Fintech research among members of the research group and across sections and schools.
- Engage in innovative and industrially relevant research and provide our expertise to public and private sectors in Wales and beyond.
Our members’ research interests in Fintech include:
- Cryptocurrencies
- Blockchain
- Banking (eg digital banking, open banking)
- Insurance (insuretech)
- Personal Finance (eg robo-advisors)
- Payments (digital payment systems)
- Lending (crowdfunding, P2P lending etc.)
- Capital Markets (algorithmic and high frequency trading)
- Wealth Management
- Machine Learning and AI
- Computer-assisted Textual Analysis
Selected publications
- Wang, Y. 2021. Blockchain applications in logistics. In: Vickerman, R. , Noland, R. B. and Ettema, D. eds. International Encyclopedia of Transportation. Vol. 3, Elsevier. , pp.136-142.
- Fang, Y. et al. 2020. Optimal forecast combination based on ensemble empirical mode decomposition for agricultural commodity futures prices. Journal of Forecasting 39 (6), pp.877-886. Volume39, Issue6 September 2020 Pages 877-886. (10.1002/for.2665)
- Fang, Y. et al., 2019. Foreign ownership, bank information environments, and the international mobility of corporate governance. Journal of International Business Studies 50 (9), pp.1566-1593. (10.1057/s41267-019-00240-w)
- Aretz, K. , Banerjee, S. and Pryshchepa, O. 2019. In the path of the storm: does distress risk cause industrial firms to risk-shift?. Review of Finance 23 (6), pp.1115-1154. (10.1093/rof/rfy028)
- Wang, Y. et al. 2019. Making sense of blockchain technology: How will it transform supply chains?. International Journal of Production Economics 211 , pp.221-236. (10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.02.002)
- Hewett, N. , Lehmacher, W. and Wang, Y. 2019. Inclusive deployment of blockchain for supply chains.
- Silva, E. S. et al., 2019. Forecasting tourism demand with denoised neural networks. Annals of Tourism Research 74 , pp.134-154. (10.1016/j.annals.2018.11.006)
- Wang, Y. , Han, J. H. and Beynon-Davies, P. 2019. Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 24 (1), pp.62-84. (10.1108/SCM-03-2018-0148)
- Wang, Y. , Touboulic, A. and O'Neill, M. 2018. An exploration of solutions for improving access to affordable fresh food with disadvantaged Welsh communities. European Journal of Operational Research 268 (3), pp.1021-1039. (10.1016/j.ejor.2017.11.065)
- Nguyen, D. . D. , Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2018. Does a CEO's cultural heritage affect performance under competitive pressure?. Review of Financial Studies 31 (1), pp.97-141. (10.1093/rfs/hhx046)
- Song, Q. , Liu, A. and Yang, S. 2017. Stock portfolio selection using learning-to-rank algorithms with news sentiment. Neurocomputing 264 , pp.20-28. (10.1016/j.neucom.2017.02.097)
- Yang, S. Y. et al., 2017. Genetic programming optimization for a sentiment feedback strength based trading strategy. Neurocomputing 264 , pp.29-41. (10.1016/j.neucom.2016.10.103)
- Taffler, R. J. , Spence, C. and Eshraghi, A. 2017. Emotional economic man: Calculation and anxiety in fund management. Accounting, Organizations and Society 61 , pp.53-67. (10.1016/j.aos.2017.07.003)
- Rogers, A. et al. 2017. Examining the existence of double jeopardy and negative double jeopardy within Twitter. European Journal of Marketing 51 (7/8), pp.1224-1247. (10.1108/EJM-03-2015-0126)
- ap Gwilym, O. et al., 2016. In search of concepts: the effects of speculative demand on stock returns. European Financial Management 22 (3), pp.427-449. (10.1111/eufm.12067)
- Nguyen, D. , Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2016. Can bank boards prevent misconduct?. Review of Finance 20 (1), pp.1-36. (10.1093/rof/rfv011)
- Yang, S. Y. , Mo, S. Y. K. and Liu, A. 2015. Twitter financial community sentiment and its predictive relationship to stock market movement. Quantitative Finance 15 (10), pp.1637-1656. (10.1080/14697688.2015.1071078)
- Kuang, P. , Schröder, M. and Wang, Q. 2014. Illusory profitability of technical analysis in emerging foreign exchange markets. International Journal of Forecasting 30 (2), pp.192-205. (10.1016/j.ijforecast.2013.07.015)
- Pryshchepa, O. , Aretz, K. and Banerjee, S. 2013. Can investors restrict managerial behavior in distressed firms?. Journal of Corporate Finance 23 , pp.222-239. (10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2013.08.006)
Academic staff

Professor Arman Eshraghi
Professor of Finance and Investment, Deputy Head of Section for Research, Impact and Innovation
- eshraghia@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2251 0880

Dr Izidin El Kalak
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Finance
- elkalaki@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 4961

Professor Peter Morgan
Professor of Quantitative Analysis
- morganph@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5727

Professor Yingli Wang
Professor in Logistics and Operations Management
- wangy14@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5066
Postgraduate students
Associated staff
Our members have contributed to the following events:
- Keynote, We Need to Talk About Bitcoin, Wales Tech Week
- Keynote, ‘AI and the Future of Finance’ Summit, University of Waikato
- Panel talk, Wealth Management in the Digital Age, Future of Finance, Virtual
- TEDx Talk, Fintech and the Future of Finance, Cardiff University
- Panel talk, ESRC Sparking Impact Workshop on Blockchain Technology, Cardiff
- Panel talk, CityUK National Conference in partnership with PwC, Cardiff
- 'Technology in Manufacturing' Consultation, Cardiff
- Collaboration with industrial partners on a Masterclass on blockchain at RICS Digital Built Environment Conference 2019 (London)
- Webinar on blockchain's role in the circular economy for the World Built Environment Forum
- Research Foresight Report for Government Office for Science on the impact of Emerging Technologies on Future Mobility
- White Paper on Blockchain for Supply Chains for World Economic Forum