Edited by Dimitrios Salampasis, Associate Professor of Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Patrick Schueffel, Adjunct Professor, HEG School of Management Fribourg, HES-SO, Switzerland

‘Timely, rigorous, and truly global, this well-curated handbook integrates policy, infrastructure, and frontier innovation; from MiCAR and UPI to DeFi, CBDCs, and climate finance. With comparative cases and evidence-based insights, it offers a practical compass for researchers, executives, and regulators navigating the next chapter of digital finance.’

• ContentsForeword by Paolo Sironi xiiiForeword by Professor Georgios Samakovitis xvIntroduction: The fintech epoch – past lessons, present disruptions and the code that will shape tomorrow 1Dimitrios Salampasis and Patrick SchueffelPART I REGULATORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS IN FINTECH1 Fintech down under: fintech and the regulatory environment in Australia 10Russell Dominic2 Legal definition and categorization of crypto-assets under MiCAR 30Diogo Pereira CoelhoPART II TRUST, SECURITY, AND CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES IN FINTECH3 The challenge of consumer trust and security in fintech strategies 49Anna Omarini4 Reinforcing Australia’s financial fortress against scams and fraud with fintech 71Elaine Mei Hua Ho, Thu Huong Dang, Nina Ratnasari, Chan Kachna Kim, and Yan Sau ChanPART III PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE5 Unified Payments Interface (UPI): inception, evolution, and future 93Yoshita Sharma6 From theory to action: how banking-as-a-service in Europe is operationalizing Open Banking and unlocks a multi-billion dollar opportunity 101Maximilian SalomonPART IV OPEN BANKING AND BANKING INNOVATION7 Open Banking as a double-edged sword for banks and fintechs: implications and useful insights through the lens of social network 122Oday Abu-Smair and Nicholas Rich8 Headless banking: DeFi as the catalyst for a paradigm shift in the financial world 143Patrick SchueffelPART V TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN FINANCIAL SERVICES9 KBC Bank: transforming to an AI-powered digital platform 175Bjorn Cumps and Stijn Viaene10 Driving fintech innovation: key insights and strategic questions for incumbents’ board of directors and advisors 190Andreas Spyropoulos11 Is financial intermediation getting stronger as an institution? Qualitative case of distributed vs centralized simultaneous dichotomy 201Egor AbramovPART VI BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES12 Transparency and privacy in Bitcoin transactions: too many or not enough? – the case of Germany 217Loïc Sauce13 Tokenizing the air: monetizing the invisible with blockchain 235Nikhil Varma14 Blockchain-enabled mobile money (MM) technology: revolutionizing financial services 243Mohamed Ibrahim15 How has blockchain technology affected the fintech business model innovation? 264Arielle Ornela, Ndassi Teutio, Serge Lopez Wamba Taguimdje, and Stephen Foka NzahaPART VII CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES (CBDCS)16 Emergence of digital currencies by central banks (CBDC) 293Mauricio Garita Gutiérrez and Gustavo Godoy17 Central bank digital currencies and their future role 307Sean Stein Smith18 Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): the design framework and implementation model of China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) and comparison with digital euro 319Jack Woo and Alexandre HervePART VIII FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND INNOVATION IN EMERGING MARKETS19 International market selection and fintech: the role of financial inclusion and perceived corruption in neobank adoption 341Dionysios Karavidas, Rocio Isabel Paez, and Philip O’Reilly20 Financial inclusion through frugal innovation: cases from emerging economies 357Hamid Nach and Japheth Mursi21 Digital entrepreneurship: venture capital investor strategies in the African context 377Raymond OnuohaPART IX FINTECH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY22 Unlocking climate finance: the role of fintech in climate change mitigation and adaptation 396Rod B. McNaughton23 Satellite data as a financial asset: monetizing space-derived information through fintech platforms 418Rajeeshwaran Moorthy

Edited by Dimitrios Salampasis, Associate Professor of Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Patrick Schueffel, Adjunct Professor, HEG School of Management Fribourg, HES-SO, Switzerland

‘Timely, rigorous, and truly global, this well-curated handbook integrates policy, infrastructure, and frontier innovation; from MiCAR and UPI to DeFi, CBDCs, and climate finance. With comparative cases and evidence-based insights, it offers a practical compass for researchers, executives, and regulators navigating the next chapter of digital finance.’

• ContentsForeword by Paolo Sironi xiiiForeword by Professor Georgios Samakovitis xvIntroduction: The fintech epoch – past lessons, present disruptions and the code that will shape tomorrow 1Dimitrios Salampasis and Patrick SchueffelPART I REGULATORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS IN FINTECH1 Fintech down under: fintech and the regulatory environment in Australia 10Russell Dominic2 Legal definition and categorization of crypto-assets under MiCAR 30Diogo Pereira CoelhoPART II TRUST, SECURITY, AND CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES IN FINTECH3 The challenge of consumer trust and security in fintech strategies 49Anna Omarini4 Reinforcing Australia’s financial fortress against scams and fraud with fintech 71Elaine Mei Hua Ho, Thu Huong Dang, Nina Ratnasari, Chan Kachna Kim, and Yan Sau ChanPART III PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE5 Unified Payments Interface (UPI): inception, evolution, and future 93Yoshita Sharma6 From theory to action: how banking-as-a-service in Europe is operationalizing Open Banking and unlocks a multi-billion dollar opportunity 101Maximilian SalomonPART IV OPEN BANKING AND BANKING INNOVATION7 Open Banking as a double-edged sword for banks and fintechs: implications and useful insights through the lens of social network 122Oday Abu-Smair and Nicholas Rich8 Headless banking: DeFi as the catalyst for a paradigm shift in the financial world 143Patrick SchueffelPART V TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN FINANCIAL SERVICES9 KBC Bank: transforming to an AI-powered digital platform 175Bjorn Cumps and Stijn Viaene10 Driving fintech innovation: key insights and strategic questions for incumbents’ board of directors and advisors 190Andreas Spyropoulos11 Is financial intermediation getting stronger as an institution? Qualitative case of distributed vs centralized simultaneous dichotomy 201Egor AbramovPART VI BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES12 Transparency and privacy in Bitcoin transactions: too many or not enough? – the case of Germany 217Loïc Sauce13 Tokenizing the air: monetizing the invisible with blockchain 235Nikhil Varma14 Blockchain-enabled mobile money (MM) technology: revolutionizing financial services 243Mohamed Ibrahim15 How has blockchain technology affected the fintech business model innovation? 264Arielle Ornela, Ndassi Teutio, Serge Lopez Wamba Taguimdje, and Stephen Foka NzahaPART VII CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES (CBDCS)16 Emergence of digital currencies by central banks (CBDC) 293Mauricio Garita Gutiérrez and Gustavo Godoy17 Central bank digital currencies and their future role 307Sean Stein Smith18 Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): the design framework and implementation model of China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) and comparison with digital euro 319Jack Woo and Alexandre HervePART VIII FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND INNOVATION IN EMERGING MARKETS19 International market selection and fintech: the role of financial inclusion and perceived corruption in neobank adoption 341Dionysios Karavidas, Rocio Isabel Paez, and Philip O’Reilly20 Financial inclusion through frugal innovation: cases from emerging economies 357Hamid Nach and Japheth Mursi21 Digital entrepreneurship: venture capital investor strategies in the African context 377Raymond OnuohaPART IX FINTECH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY22 Unlocking climate finance: the role of fintech in climate change mitigation and adaptation 396Rod B. McNaughton23 Satellite data as a financial asset: monetizing space-derived information through fintech platforms 418Rajeeshwaran Moorthy

Edited by Dimitrios Salampasis, Associate Professor of Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Patrick Schueffel, Adjunct Professor, HEG School of Management Fribourg, HES-SO, Switzerland

‘Timely, rigorous, and truly global, this well-curated handbook integrates policy, infrastructure, and frontier innovation; from MiCAR and UPI to DeFi, CBDCs, and climate finance. With comparative cases and evidence-based insights, it offers a practical compass for researchers, executives, and regulators navigating the next chapter of digital finance.’

• ContentsForeword by Paolo Sironi xiiiForeword by Professor Georgios Samakovitis xvIntroduction: The fintech epoch – past lessons, present disruptions and the code that will shape tomorrow 1Dimitrios Salampasis and Patrick SchueffelPART I REGULATORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS IN FINTECH1 Fintech down under: fintech and the regulatory environment in Australia 10Russell Dominic2 Legal definition and categorization of crypto-assets under MiCAR 30Diogo Pereira CoelhoPART II TRUST, SECURITY, AND CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES IN FINTECH3 The challenge of consumer trust and security in fintech strategies 49Anna Omarini4 Reinforcing Australia’s financial fortress against scams and fraud with fintech 71Elaine Mei Hua Ho, Thu Huong Dang, Nina Ratnasari, Chan Kachna Kim, and Yan Sau ChanPART III PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE5 Unified Payments Interface (UPI): inception, evolution, and future 93Yoshita Sharma6 From theory to action: how banking-as-a-service in Europe is operationalizing Open Banking and unlocks a multi-billion dollar opportunity 101Maximilian SalomonPART IV OPEN BANKING AND BANKING INNOVATION7 Open Banking as a double-edged sword for banks and fintechs: implications and useful insights through the lens of social network 122Oday Abu-Smair and Nicholas Rich8 Headless banking: DeFi as the catalyst for a paradigm shift in the financial world 143Patrick SchueffelPART V TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN FINANCIAL SERVICES9 KBC Bank: transforming to an AI-powered digital platform 175Bjorn Cumps and Stijn Viaene10 Driving fintech innovation: key insights and strategic questions for incumbents’ board of directors and advisors 190Andreas Spyropoulos11 Is financial intermediation getting stronger as an institution? Qualitative case of distributed vs centralized simultaneous dichotomy 201Egor AbramovPART VI BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES12 Transparency and privacy in Bitcoin transactions: too many or not enough? – the case of Germany 217Loïc Sauce13 Tokenizing the air: monetizing the invisible with blockchain 235Nikhil Varma14 Blockchain-enabled mobile money (MM) technology: revolutionizing financial services 243Mohamed Ibrahim15 How has blockchain technology affected the fintech business model innovation? 264Arielle Ornela, Ndassi Teutio, Serge Lopez Wamba Taguimdje, and Stephen Foka NzahaPART VII CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES (CBDCS)16 Emergence of digital currencies by central banks (CBDC) 293Mauricio Garita Gutiérrez and Gustavo Godoy17 Central bank digital currencies and their future role 307Sean Stein Smith18 Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): the design framework and implementation model of China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) and comparison with digital euro 319Jack Woo and Alexandre HervePART VIII FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND INNOVATION IN EMERGING MARKETS19 International market selection and fintech: the role of financial inclusion and perceived corruption in neobank adoption 341Dionysios Karavidas, Rocio Isabel Paez, and Philip O’Reilly20 Financial inclusion through frugal innovation: cases from emerging economies 357Hamid Nach and Japheth Mursi21 Digital entrepreneurship: venture capital investor strategies in the African context 377Raymond OnuohaPART IX FINTECH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY22 Unlocking climate finance: the role of fintech in climate change mitigation and adaptation 396Rod B. McNaughton23 Satellite data as a financial asset: monetizing space-derived information through fintech platforms 418Rajeeshwaran Moorthy