The financial sector institutions experienced dramatic development following technology development, particularly the internet and smartphone penetration. This development brought rapid growth of technology-based financial firms (FinTech) in various financial aspects, including payment services, lending, investment, and other services. On the other hand, as the incumbent of the financial services industry, banks are also demanded to continue innovating to provide quality services through digital transformation.
As a public university that excels in financial and banking research at the national level and is well recognized at the international level, UNS becomes the pioneer by establishing a center for excellence (PUI) in Fintech and Banking. As the first Fintech and Banking center of excellence in Indonesia, Fintech Center’s activities focus on academic and applied research, scientific publication, training, education and certification, and acts as an innovation hub and digital business incubator.
PUI Fintech Center is a follow-up for the previous achievements from the Research Group of Governance, Banking, and Finance as the potent seed of Fintech Center. These achievements include:

• Joint research with regulators and financial services industry
• Collaboration research and publication with a leading researcher from global institutions
• Publication in a reputable international journal in finance and banking
• An international grant from the European Commission in ERASMUS+ Capacity Building project to accelerate the quality of banking and finance research in Indonesian universities (OPTBANK)
• Various international research grants in finance and banking

The research group has published more than 80 articles in Scopus indexed journals, some in the top tier journals such as the Journal of Financial Stability, British Accounting Review, Global Finance Journal, International Economics, Research in International Business and Finance, Borsa Istanbul Review, Economic Modelling, Journal of Asia Business Studies, and Economic Bulletin.
PUI Center for Fintech and Banking, Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS Fintech Center) aims to:

• To be the center for training and education (capacity building) in financial technology and finance, including the sharia finance
• To be a research center, study, and dissemination of research findings in financial technology and banking
• To be an innovation hub (center of innovation), particularly for technology-based financial innovation

The programs that PUI Fintech Center UNS has developed are:

• Providing training, education, and certification in financial, financial technology, and banking, including sharia finance
• Conducted basic and applied research in finance, financial technology, banking, including sharia finance, and publish the findings in reputable international journals and other media
• Led discussion, development, and fostering the innovation pioneers in financial sectors, especially from UNS academic community
• Providing an outlet for research finding dissemination through an international scientific journal publication that focuses on financial technology and banking
• Providing information and discussion forum on the development of the financial service sector and financial technology
• Intensify and expand partnership with regulators in financial service sectors and industrial actors in education, research, and innovation
• Promoting digital ecosystem in Universitas Sebelas Maret