<p>Fintech has been increasingly popular recently for its potential
to transform the global finance industry and economy. Since COVID-19 spreads around
the world, whereas several reports have showed positive influences of the
pandemic within fintech’s development, there are insufficient scientific
studies that robustly assess the outbreak’s real impact to the sector. </p>
<p>This research aims to address this gap by employing a mixed method
approach, which involves multiple phases: In the first phase, media content
analysis will be utilised to investigate the change in fintech’s trends and
communication before and after the pandemic. How fintech would have performed
without the pandemic will be weighed using the counterfactual analysis on one
of fintech’s constituents: cryptocurrencies in the second phase. Case studies
on SMEs will be conducted at the final phase to study if there are any
differences in attitudes and intentions to adopt fintech because of the COVID-19. </p>
<p>Research findings will provide insights of user’s response in
using fintech in pandemic context. They will also act as reference for policy
makers to navigate their agenda for pandemic relief efforts. Furthermore, SMEs can
learn from their counterparts and gain a better understanding of fintech market
in terms of adopting and implementing the technology.</p>
