Exploring the Social Dimension of Fintech Companies: Risks and Opportunities with Special Reference to the Spanish Legal Landscape

Abstract

In recent years, the fintech phenomenon has given rise many debates in legal scholarship. According to the most commonly cited definition, it means “technology-enabled innovation in financial services that could lead to new business models, applications, processes or products with a concrete implication for the provision of financial services” (FSB, 2017). This study approaches the problem from the labour law perspective and consists of three parts: the origins, the concept and the five groups of labour-related risks and opportunities posed by fintech companies. The methodology based on the opposition between risks and opportunities is determined by the very nature of fintech. On the one hand, it alludes to the advances of the global technological revolution; on the other hand, it suggests a return to the origins of banking linked to the interests of local customers. In this sense, the initial idea of fintech startups is connected to the needs of the most vulnerable groups of population, who, in principle, lack access to traditional banking services.

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