Personal Finance

Module CodeModule Title
Module Credits
GAC3000
Personal Finance
20
Academic Year and
Semester
Examination Board
Level & Block
2023-24, 2nd Semester
July 2024
3&2
Method of Assessment
Term
Weighting
WRIT1 Coursework
Mid-term
30%
Module Leader
Module Leader email
Ms. Pavithra Shetty
shetty@gulfcollege.edu.om
Additional Information (if any)
Submission deadline: 25th April 2024 @ 9PM.
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Contents
1. Assessment Details
2. Submission Details
3. Assessment Criteria
4. Further Information
 Who can answer questions about my assessment?
 Referencing
 Submission problems
 Unfair academic practice
 How is my work graded?
5. IV form
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Assessment Details
Assessment title
Abr.
Weighting
WRIT1 Coursework
WRIT1
30%
Pass marks for undergraduate work is 40%, unless stated otherwise.
Task/assessment brief:
Digital banking offers several benefits for both consumers and business owners. This is one of the fastdeveloped banking services and delivering products through electronic channels, offered to a customer on their
internet-enabled computer, smartphone, or tablet etc. Digital banking helps customer to perform banking
transactions electronically without visiting a bank or any other financial institutions. On this topic, you are
required to complete the following tasks:
Introduction:

Give an introduction about digital banking with the brief discussion on the benefits of digital banking.
(approximately 100 words)
Discussion:
i.
Commercial banks play a major role on providing digital banking services to the consumers. On this
topic, you are required to choose any one of the commercial banks existing in the Sultanate of Oman
and discuss the various digital banking services offered by them to the customers. (approximately 300
words)
ii.
With the technological advancement and growing demand for digital banking services, commercial
banks might struggle to cope up with the customer behaviour. Based on this concept, you are required
to discuss the challenges of digital banking faced by the commercial banks. (approximately 200 words)
iii.
Due to the development in the banking system nowadays the banking services are faster and quicker,
but at the same time it is challenging for the customers to safeguard their banking transactions from
theft and fraud. Considering this, discuss the risks associated with this and the security measures are in
place to protect the digital banking transactions.
iv.
(approximately 300 words)
The shift from traditional to digital banking has been gradual and remains ongoing. On this topic,
discuss the key differences between digital banking and traditional banking. (approximately 200 words)
Conclusion
(approximately 100 words)
***************
Guidelines to students for report preparation and submission:
The font type must be Arial with a font size 12 and with 1.5 line spacing. It should be a Microsoft Word
Document based on required format.
Additional instructions:
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Your assignment should contain the following:
Digital banking services:

Introduction – Give an introduction about digital banking with the brief discussion on the benefits of
digital banking.

(approximately 100 words)
Discussion:
i.
Commercial banks play a major role on providing digital banking services to the consumers. On
this topic, you are required to choose any one of the commercial banks existing in the Sultanate
of Oman and discuss the various digital banking services offered by them to the customers. –
students need to choose any one of the commercial banks existing in the Sultanate of Oman
and discuss the meaning and features of different digital banking services offered by them to
the customers.
ii.
(approximately 300 words)
With the technological advancement and growing demand for digital banking services,
commercial banks might struggle to cope up with the customer behaviour. Based on this
concept, you are required to discuss the challenges of digital banking faced by the commercial
banks.
iii.
(approximately 200 words)
Due to the development in the banking system nowadays the banking services are faster and
quicker, but at the same time it is challenging for the customers to safeguard their banking
transactions from theft and fraud. Considering this, discuss the risks associated with this and
the security measures are in place to protect the digital banking transactions. – students need
to discuss the various risks associated with the digital banking services and the safety measures
taken by customers to protect their digital banking services.
iv.
(approximately 300 words)
The shift from traditional to digital banking has been gradual and remains ongoing. On this
topic, discuss the key differences between digital banking and traditional banking.
(approximately 200 words)

Conclusion: summarise the key concepts discussed in the report.
(Approximately 100 words)
Reference:
You are required to provide at least five (5) references which includes all sources like books, e-books, online
sources, newspapers, and journals using the proper Harvard referencing system.
*************
Word count (or equivalent):
1200 words equivalent
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This is a reflection of the effort required for the assessment. Word counts will normally include any text, tables,
calculations, figures, subtitles and citations. Reference lists and contents of appendices are excluded from the
word count. Contents of appendices are not usually considered when determining your final assessment grade.
Academic or technical terms explained:
NIL
Submission Details
Submission
Deadline:
Mid – 25th April 2024
Estimated Feedback
Return Date
After the result
announcement (10 working
days) – July 2024 EB
Submission
Time:
9:00 PM
Turnitin:
Any assessments submitted after the deadline will not be marked and will be recorded as
a non-attempt unless you have had an extension request agreed or have approved
mitigating circumstances. See the Gulf College website for more information on
submission details and mitigating circumstances.
File Format:
The assessment must be submitted as a word document and submit through the Turnitin
submission point.
Your assessment should be titled with your:
Student ID number, Module code and Assessment ID,
e.g. 1610200 GAC3000 WRIT1
Feedback
Feedback for the assessment will be provided electronically via Turnitin / MS Teams / Face
to Face. Feedback will be provided with comments on your strengths and the areas which
you can improve. Module tutors give students two types of assessment feedback: formative,
which is given when the student is working on the completion of an assignment or
coursework, and summative, which is given upon completion of the module. A
comprehensive assessment feedback on your performance will be given after the
announcement of the results. (10 Working Days)
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Assessment Criteria
Learning outcomes assessed
On successful completion of the module, a student should be able to:

Analyse the reasons why individuals buy financial products and the factors that affect their
choices

Compare the main features of financial products and providers

Analyse the effects on consumers of changes and trends in the financial marketplace
In addition, the assessment will test the following learning outcome:

Compare the main features of financial products and providers
Marking/Assessment Criteria
Question
Marks
Description
No.
Allocated
Introduction: Digital banking services:

Introduction about digital banking
4

Further discussion on the benefits of digital banking services
6
Discussion on the meaning and features digital banking services
I.
II.
III.
IV.
offered by the chosen commercial bank.
(5 points * 4 marks each)
20
Discussion on the challenges of digital banking services faced by the
commercial banks.
20
Discussion on the various the risks and the security measures are in
place to protect the digital banking transactions
20
Differences between digital banking and traditional banking.
20
Conclusion
10
Total
100
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Further Information
Who can answer questions about my assessment?
Questions about the assessment should be directed to the staff member who has set the task/assessment
brief. This will usually be the Module tutor. They will be happy to answer any queries you have.
Referencing and independent learning (Not applicable for Examination)
Please ensure you reference a range of credible sources, with due attention to the academic literature in
the area. The time spent on research and reading from good quality sources will be reflected in the quality
of your submitted work.
Remember that what you get out of university depends on what you put in. Your teaching sessions
typically represent between 10% and 30% of the time you are expected to study for your degree. A 20credit module represents 200 hours of study time. The rest of your time should be taken up by selfdirected study.
Unless stated otherwise you must use the HARVARD referencing system. Further guidance on referencing
can be found in the on Moodle. Correct referencing is an easy way to improve your marks and essential
in achieving higher grades on most assessments.
Technical submission problems (Not applicable for Examination)
It is strongly advised that you submit your work at least 24 hours before the deadline to allow time to
resolve any last minute problems you might have. If you are having issues with IT or Turnitin you should
contact the IT Helpdesk on (+968) 92841521/ 92841217. You may require evidence of the Helpdesk call if
you are trying to demonstrate that a fault with Turnitin was the cause of a late submission.
Mitigating circumstances
Short extensions on assessment deadlines can be requested in specific circumstances. If you are
encountering particular hardship which has been affecting your studies, then you may be able to apply
for mitigating circumstances. This can give the teachers on your programme more scope to adapt the
assessment requirements to support your needs. Mitigating circumstances policies and procedures are
regularly updated. You should refer to your Academic Advisor for information on extensions and
mitigating circumstances.
Unfair academic practice
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Cardiff Met takes issues of unfair practice extremely seriously. The University has procedures and
penalties for dealing with unfair academic practice. These are explained in full in the University’s Unfair
Practice regulations and procedures under Volume 1, Section 8 of the Academic Handbook. The Module
Leader reserves the right to interview students regarding any aspect of their work submitted for
assessment.
Types of Unfair Practice, include:
Plagiarism, which can be defined as using without acknowledgement another person’s words or ideas and
submitting them for assessment as though it were one’s own work, for instance by copying, translating
from one language to another or unacknowledged paraphrasing. Further examples include:
 Use of any quotation(s) from the published or unpublished work of other persons, whether published
in textbooks, articles, the Web, or in any other format, where quotations have not been clearly
identified as such by being placed in quotation marks and acknowledged.
 Use of another person’s words or ideas that have been slightly changed or paraphrased to make it
look different from the original.
 Summarising another person’s ideas, judgments, diagrams, figures, or computer programmes
without reference to that person in the text and the source in a bibliography/reference list.
 Use of assessment writing services, essay banks and/or any other similar agencies (NB. Students are
commonly being blackmailed after using essay mills).
 Use of unacknowledged material downloaded from the Internet.
 Re-use of one’s own material except as authorised by your degree programme.
Collusion, which can be defined as when work that that has been undertaken with others is submitted
and passed off as solely the work of one person. Modules will clearly identify where joint preparation and
joint submission are permitted, in all other cases they are not.
Fabrication of data, making false claims to have carried out experiments, observations, interviews or
other forms of data collection and analysis, or acting dishonestly in any other way.
How is my work graded?
Gulf College uses Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Generic Band Descriptors (GBD), in conjunction with
programme-specific and/or assessment-specific descriptors that are developed in accordance with the
principles underpinning the generic descriptors, as a reference in marking student work outputs. This is
to ensure that marking is consistent across all Cardiff Met students’ work, including the work outputs of
students in Gulf College.
Assessment marking undergoes a meticulous process to make sure that it is fair and truly reflects the
performance of students in their modules. Marking of work at each level of Cardiff Met degree
programmes are benchmarked against a set of general requirements set out in Cardiff Met’s Guidance
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on Assessment Marking.
https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/registry/academichandbook/Documents/AH1_04_03.pdf
To find out more about assessments and key academic skills that can have a significant impact on your
marks, download and read your Module Handbook from Moodle and your Programme Handbook from
the college website.
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