Dr Monica Vessio

Dr Monica Vessio lectures Banking and Commercial Law in the School of Law. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Prior to joining Reading she was Module Convenor for Commercial Law and Programme Director for the LLM Programme in Business and Law at the University of Exeter. 

Her research and teaching focus on aspects of banking law (digital banking, central bank digital currencies, privacy considerations in this field and open banking); circular economy (CE) influences and the impact of disruptive technologies, such as smart contracts and AI, on supply chains. In her research, she explores both corporate and consumer perspectives. 

As Co-Principal Investigator for a CE Project funded by WEFO/ESIF, which incorporated the use of an on-chain smart contract to enhance a CE trading model, Monica led on the advisory document outlining the drafting requirements of partially automated agreements for both B2B and B2C components for the partner organization.

Prior to joining the University of Exeter, she held lecturing posts at the University of Pretoria, University of Johannesburg.  She was visiting lecturer at Catόlica University, Porto. In South Africa, she actively collaborated with the Black Lawyers Association, participating in an outreach program aimed at training and enhancing the skills of attorneys in rural areas, within the commercial legal sector. 

She practised as a commercial attorney and legal commercial consultant (to financial institutions and banks).  She holds a BA and LLB from Rhodes University, her LLM with distinction and honorary colours and LLD (PhD) from the University of Pretoria.  

Serving as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Banking Law, she has been repeatedly invited by the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg to hold this position.

Monica is a prolific author, having published numerous peer-reviewed articles in esteemed academic journals. Additionally, she co-authors the annually updated Banking Law and Practice

Her work has garnered frequent citations from the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, and numerous High Court cases.