Open Access

Exploring the Role of FinTech in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Volume 3, Issue 11

  • Author(s)Pallikuppam Sachithanandan Buvaneswari, Pullangottummal Aiswarya
  • AffiliationAssistant Professor, Department of Commerce, University of Madras, Chepauk, Chennai- 600005, Tamil Nadu, India. PhD Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, University of Madras, Chepauk, Chennai- 600005, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • Page No.110-121
  • Volume, Issue & YearVolume 3 Issue 11,Nov-2026
  • Published On14/11/2026
  • JournalInternational Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Application (IJAMA)
  • ISSN No.3048-9350

Abstract

This conceptual study examines the role of FinTech in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It explores how technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, mobile platforms, and big data contribute to sustainable development across social, economic, environmental, and governance dimensions.The study adopts a conceptual and descriptive approach based on a review of existing literature, reports, and sustainability frameworks related to FinTech and the SDGs. It analyses the opportunities and challenges associated with FinTech adoption in different socio-economic contexts. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between FinTech and sustainable development by linking technological innovation with all 17 SDGs. It highlights both the opportunities and limitations of FinTech and emphasizes the need for supportive policies, stronger infrastructure, and collaborative efforts to maximize its sustainable impact.

Keywords: FinTech, Sustainable development, SDG, Block chain, Artificial Intelligence.

References

  1. 1. Abdul-Rahim, R., Bohari, S. A., Aman, A., & Awang, Z. (2022). Benefit–risk perceptions of FinTech adoption for sustainability from bank consumers’ perspective: The moderating role of fear of COVID-19.Sustainability,14(14), 8357.
  2. 2. Adegbite, O. O., & Machethe, C. L. (2020). Bridging the financial inclusion gender gap in smallholder agriculture in Nigeria: An untapped potential for sustainable development.World development,127, 104755.
  3. 3. Babu, M. M., Dey, B. L., Rahman, M., Roy, S. K., Alwi, S. F. S., & Kamal, M. M. (2020). Value co-creation through social innovation: A study of sustainable strategic alliance in telecommunication and financial services sectors in Bangladesh.Industrial Marketing Management,89, 13-27.
  4. 4. Batten, J. A., Maddox, G. E., & Young, M. R. (2021). Does weather, or energy prices, affect carbon prices?Energy Economics,96, 105016.
  5. 5. Beck, R., Müller-Bloch, C., & King, J. L. (2018). Governance in the blockchain economy: A framework and research agenda.Journal of the association for information systems,19(10), 1.
  6. 6. Blakstad, S., & Allen, R. (2018). Green Fintech. InFinTech Revolution: Universal Inclusion in the New Financial Ecosystem(pp. 183-199). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  7. 7. Bondarenko, T. G., Maksimova, T. P., & Zhdanova, O. A. (2020). Technology transformation in education: Consequences of digitalization. InCurrent Achievements, Challenges and Digital Chances of Knowledge Based Economy(pp. 659-666). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  8. 8. Bu, Y., Du, X., & Li, H. (2025). From digital finance to green growth: the role of FinTech in sustainable manufacturing.Applied Economics, 1-17.
  9. 9. Candraningrat, I. R., Abundanti, N., Mujiati, N. W., Erlangga, R., & Jhuniantara, I. M. G. (2021). The role of financial technology on development of MSMEs.Accounting,7(1), 225-230.
  10. 10. Chatnani, N. N. (2018). Receivables management and supply chain finance for MSMEs: Analysis of TREDS.Academy of Strategic Management Journal,17(3), 1-8.
  11. 11. Cong, L. W., & He, Z. (2019). Blockchain disruption and smart contracts.The Review of Financial Studies,32(5), 1754-1797.
  12. 12. Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Klapper, L., Singer, D., & Ansar, S. (2022).The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial inclusion, digital payments, and resilience in the age of COVID-19. World Bank Publications.
  13. 13. Deng, J., Guo, J., Xue, N., & Zafeiriou, S. (2019). Arcface: Additive angular margin loss for deep face recognition. InProceedings of the IEEE/CVF conference on computer vision and pattern recognition(pp. 4690-4699).
  14. 14. Duran, D. C., Gogan, L. M., Artene, A., & Duran, V. (2015). The components of sustainable development-a possible approach.Procedia Economics and Finance,26, 806-811.
  15. 15. Firmansyah, E. A., Masri, M., Anshari, M., & Besar, M. H. A. (2022). Factors affecting fintech adoption: a systematic literature review.FinTech,2(1), 21-33.
  16. 16. Frost, J., Gambacorta, L., Huang, Y., Shin, H. S., & Zbinden, P. (2019). BigTech and the changing structure of financial intermediation.Economic policy,34(100), 761-799.
  17. 17. Galaz, V., Crona, B., Dauriach, A., Scholtens, B., & Steffen, W. (2018). Finance and the Earth system–Exploring the links between financial actors and non-linear changes in the climate system.Global Environmental Change,53, 296-302.
  18. 18. Goldenfein, J., & Leiter, A. (2018). Legal engineering on the blockchain:‘Smart contracts’ as legal conduct.Law and Critique,29(2), 141-149.
  19. 19. Goldstein, I., Jiang, W., & Karolyi, G. A. (2019). To FinTech and beyond.The Review of Financial Studies,32(5), 1647-1661.
  20. 20. Goundar, S. (2012). Research methodology and research method.Victoria University of Wellington,1(1), 1-47.
  21. 21. Greenberg, P., & Bugden, D. (2019). Energy consumption boomtowns in the United States: Community responses to a cryptocurrency boom.Energy Research & Social Science,50, 162-167.
  22. 22. Heseková, S., Lapsánszky, A., Kálmán, J., Janovec, M., & Zalcewicz, A. (2026). Regulatory Risk in Green FinTech: Comparative Insights from Central Europe.Risks,14(1), 8.
  23. 23. Hoang, T. G., Nguyen, G. N. T., & Le, D. A. (2022). Developments in financial technologies for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs): FinTech and SDGs. InDisruptive technologies and eco-innovation for sustainable development(pp. 1-19). IGI Global.
  24. 24. Holden, E., Linnerud, K., & Banister, D. (2014). Sustainable development: Our common future revisited.Global environmental change,26, 130-139.
  25. 25. Irani, Z., Abril, R. M., Weerakkody, V., Omar, A., & Sivarajah, U. (2023). The impact of legacy systems on digital transformation in European public administration: Lesson learned from a multi case analysis.Government Information Quarterly,40(1), 101784.
  26. 26. Jakobsen, B. J., Tanev, S., & Jensen, S. (2017, March). The value of business incubation services for early stage start-ups. InISPIM Innovation Symposium(pp. 1-23). The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).
  27. 27. Jiang, S., Jakobsen, K., Bueie, J., Li, J., & Haro, P. H. (2022). A tertiary review on blockchain and sustainability with focus on Sustainable Development Goals.IEEE access,10, 114975-115006.
  28. 28. Kakar, S. K., Wang, J., Arshed, N., Le Hien, T. T., Akhter, S., & Abdullahi, N. M. (2025). The impact of circular economy, sustainable infrastructure, and green FinTech on biodiversity in Europe: A holistic approach.Technology in Society,81, 102841.
  29. 29. Klapper, L., & Singer, D. (2017). The opportunities and challenges of digitizing government-to-person payments.The World Bank Research Observer,32(2), 211-226.
  30. 30. Kouhizadeh, M., Saberi, S., & Sarkis, J. (2021). Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers.International journal of production economics,231, 107831.
  31. 31. Kurucz, A., Vinkóczi, T., Tamás, B., & Idziak, E. (2025). Unveiling the Future of FinTech: Exploring the Behavioral Intentions Behind FinTech Adoption. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 18(10), 546.
  32. 32. Lah, O. (2025). Breaking the silos: integrated approaches to foster sustainable development and climate action.Sustainable Earth Reviews,8(1), 1.
  33. 33. Lange Salvia, A., Londero Brandli, L., Leal Filho, W., Gasparetto Rebelatto, B., & Reginatto, G. (2020). Energy sustainability in teaching and outreach initiatives and the contribution to the 2030 Agenda.International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education,21(7), 1607-1624.
  34. 34. Lin, J., Lobo, A., & Leckie, C. (2017). The role of benefits and transparency in shaping consumers’ green perceived value, self-brand connection and brand loyalty.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,35, 133-141.
  35. 35. Liu, F. H., Thompson, B. S., & Harris, J. L. (2025). Financing forest restoration: the distribution and role of green FinTech in nature-based solutions to climate change. Finance and Space, 2(1), 159-187.
  36. 36. Markus, M. L., & Nan, W. V. (2020). Theorizing the connections between digital innovations and societal transformation: learning from the case of M-Pesa in Kenya. InHandbook of digital innovation(pp. 64-82). Edward Elgar Publishing.
  37. 37. Mi, L., Xu, T., Sun, Y., Zhao, J., Lv, T., Gan, X., ... & Qiao, L. (2021). Playing Ant Forest to promote online green behavior: A new perspective on uses and gratifications.Journal of environmental management,278, 111544.
  38. 38. Mohanty, B. R., & Pawar, B. R. (2019). Cashless (Less Cash) Economy & Digitization of Indian Economy. InProceedings of 10th International Conference on Digital Strategies for Organizational Success.
  39. 39. Nguyen, T. H., Nguyen, T. D., Thai, O. T. K., Phung, T. N., & Nguyen, T. Q. (2024). Association of Green Finance, Renewable Energy Investments, and Environmental Quality with Sustainable Development: Evidence from ASEAN Economies.Przestrzeń Społeczna (Social Space),24(1), 22-42.
  40. 40. Nicoletti, B., Nicoletti, W., & Weis, A. (2017). Future of fintech.
  41. 41. Olaleye, I. O., Olowojuni, O., Blessing, A. O., & Rodríguez-Molina, J. (2025). Blockchain-Based Certification in Fisheries: A Survey of Technologies and Methodologies.IoT,7(1), 1.
  42. 42. Ouma, S. A., Odongo, T. M., & Were, M. (2017). Mobile financial services and financial inclusion: Is it a boon for savings mobilization?.Review of development finance,7(1), 29-35.
  43. 43. Ozili, P. K. (2023). Financial inclusion, sustainability and sustainable development. InSmart analytics, artificial intelligence and sustainable performance management in a global digitalised economy(pp. 233-241). Emerald Publishing Limited.
  44. 44. Piliyanti, I. (2018). Fintech achieving sustainable development: The side perspective of crowdfunding platform.Shirkah: Journal of Economics and Business,3(2).
  45. 45. Rana, N. P., Luthra, S., & Rao, H. R. (2020). Key challenges to digital financial services in emerging economies: the Indian context.Information Technology & People,33(1), 198-229.
  46. 46. Rastogi, S., Sharma, M., & Varshney, P. (2016). Internet of Things based smart electricity meters.International Journal of Computer Applications,133(8), 13-16
  47. 47. Ryu, H. S., & Ko, K. S. (2020). Sustainable development of Fintech: Focused on uncertainty and perceived quality issues.Sustainability,12(18), 7669.
  48. 48. Saini, N., & Kharb, R. (2025). Empowering sustainable development through digital transformation: insights from digital India.Journal of Asia Business Studies,19(3), 606-634.
  49. 49. Schueffel, P., & Vadana, I. (2016). FINANCIAL SERVICES AND OPEN INNOVATION: What do we know after a decade of research?. InOpen Innovation: A Multifaceted Perspective: Part II(pp. 315-346).
  50. 50. Sedlmeir, J., Buhl, H. U., Fridgen, G., & Keller, R. (2020). The energy consumption of blockchain technology: Beyond myth.Business and Information Systems Engineering,62, 599-608.
  51. 51. Setiawan, B., Nugraha, D. P., Irawan, A., Nathan, R. J., & Zoltan, Z. (2021). User innovativeness and fintech adoption in Indonesia.Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity,7(3), 188.
  52. 52. Sharma, R., Agarwal, B., & Rastogi, S. (2023, November). Assessing the Impact of Financial Inclusion Efficiency on the Sustainable Development Goals. In2023 International Conference on Computing, Communication, and Intelligent Systems (ICCCIS)(pp. 33-38). IEEE.
  53. 53. Singh, S., Sahni, M. M., & Kovid, R. K. (2020). What drives FinTech adoption? A multi-method evaluation using an adapted technology acceptance model.Management Decision,58(8), 1675-1697.
  54. 54. Sinha, D., Bhrahmachary, S., Bhattacharya, S., Chaudhuri, N., Manna, S., & Bandyopadhyay, C. (2023, December). Design of IoT-Based Smart Energy Meter for E-Billing and Prepaid Electricity. InInternational Conference on Recent Advances in Artificial Intelligence & Smart Applications(pp. 279-291). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  55. 55. Stulz, R. M. (2019). Fintech, bigtech, and the future of banks.Journal of applied corporate finance,31(4), 86-97.
  56. 56. Ullah, S., Kiani, U. S., Raza, B., & Mustafa, A. (2022). Consumers’ intention to adopt m-payment/m-banking: the role of their financial skills and digital literacy.Frontiers in Psychology,13, 873708.
  57. 57. Unterhalter, E. (2019). The many meanings of quality education: Politics of targets and indicators in SDG 4.Global Policy,10, 39-51.
  58. 58. Van Hove, L., & Dubus, A. (2019).M-PESA and financial inclusion in Kenya: of paying comes saving? Sustainability 11 (3): 568.
  59. 59. Wu, G., & Peng, Q. (2024). Bridging the digital divide: Unraveling the determinants of fintech adoption in rural communities.Sage Open,14(1), 21582440241227770.
  60. 60. Yadav, A., Kant, R., & Kumar, V. (2025). Examining the sustainable development goals (SDGs) attained through adoption of industry 4.0 practices in manufacturing: A hybrid spherical fuzzy BBWM‐MAIRCA framework approach.Business Strategy & Development,8(3), e70190.
  61. 61. Yadav, Y., & Brummer, C. (2019). Fintech and the innovation trilemma.Georgetown Law Journal,107(2), 235.
  62. 62. Yan, J., Yu, W., & Zhao, J. L. (2015). How signaling and search costs affect information asymmetry in P2P lending: the economics of big data.Financial Innovation,1(1), 19.
  63. 63. Zarrouk, H., El Ghak, T., & Bakhouche, A. (2021). Exploring economic and technological determinants of FinTech startups’ success and growth in the United Arab Emirates.Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity,7(1), 50.
  64. 64. Zhang, Y., Chen, J., Han, Y., Qian, M., Guo, X., Chen, R.,& Chen, Y. (2021). The contribution of Fintech to sustainable development in the digital age: Ant forest and land restoration in China.Land use policy,103, 105306.
  65. 65. Zheng, X., & Meng, Q. (2018). Business model of green finance under the background of “Internet Plus”: A case study of ant forest.Open Journal of Social Sciences,6(8), 127-134.

Explore Our Related Journals

Looking for the right journal for your next manuscript? Explore our international peer-reviewed journals covering engineering, management, computer science, artificial intelligence and multidisciplinary research.