FinTech is Dead, Long Live Finance

In this essay I argue that Financial Technology (FinTech) should no longer be taught as a standalone subject in graduate finance programs. A decade ago, dedicated courses made sense when emerging technology use in finance was experimental. Today, it mediates virtually every financial services process, yet curricula maintain an artificial separation that leaves students unprepared for careers where finance and technology are tightly connected. I leverage my experience as a practitioner and educator, designing and teaching FinTech programs since 2016, reviewing program structures at selected business schools, and examining senior finance scholars who already integrate technology into their work. Current university responses typically create separate FinTech degrees rather than integrating technology into core finance courses. I propose a four-step framework for integration: establish financial theory, examine empirical evidence, demonstrate how technology reshapes processes, and explore business model innovations. Team-teaching and professors of practice can address faculty skill gaps. Faculty should adapt courses and institutions need to rethink program structures, moving beyond standalone FinTech offerings toward integration that prepares graduates for finance as it now operates.