Markos Zachariadis

Professor Markos Zachariadis is the Chair in Financial Technology (FinTech) and Full Professor of Information Systems at Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), University of Manchester. He also directs the Centre for Financial Technology Studies (CFTS) and holds roles such as FinTech Research Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Digital Innovation and member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Financial Systems. His research focuses on the intersection of digital innovation, financial technology, and network economics, with notable studies on payment systems (e.g., SWIFT), Open Banking, and blockchain. He has authored/co-authored influential works like The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) (2014) and co-edited The PAYTECH Book (2020).

Education: PhD in Management (Economics of Payment Systems) from the London School of Economics (2011), MSc in ADMIS (2004), and BSc in Economics from the University of Patras (2003). Prior academic roles include Associate Professor at Warwick Business School and Visiting Professorships at Ivey Business School and Cambridge Judge Business School. Industry experience includes roles at UBS Investment Bank and Hewlett Packard.

Research Interests: Economic impacts of ICT adoption in banking, diffusion of payment networks, data standards, Open Banking, blockchain, and regulatory frameworks. Awards include the NET Institute Award and SWIFT Institute Awards for research on payment systems and digital transformation. He advises global organizations like the Hellenic Competition Commission and frequently engages with media outlets such as BBC, CNN, and The Financial Times.

Key Projects: Organized an international PayTech conference funded by Gates Foundation and MasterCard. Co-led the Centre for Digital Trust and Society (2021–present) and the Fintech and Financial Crimes project (2021–2022). His work contributes to UN SDGs related to innovation and financial inclusion.

Labs/Teams: Founded the Centre for Financial Technology Studies (CFTS) at AMBS, part of interdisciplinary initiatives like the Centre for Digital Trust and Society.