Future Directions in Green Fintech

Abstract

Digitalization and sustainability have been the principal drivers of transformation in the financial industry in recent years. Within this context, green fintech, understood as the application of digital financial technologies to support environmental sustainability, has emerged as a promising, yet underexplored field. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the status quo in theory and proposes a conceptual framework for future directions. The framework is structured around four thematic clusters: Strategy, Organization, Technology, Potentials …spanning nine analytical dimensions. The findings reveal that green fintech remains in a nascent stage of development, with limited empirical depth and conceptual consensus. Significant gaps persist in areas such as: Customer- and government-oriented services, Insurance-related innovations, SDGs related to life on land (SDG 15) and life below water (SDG 14). Furthermore, while blockchain technology dominates the current discourse, other financial technologies—particularly artificial intelligence (AI)—remain notably underrepresented. These insights underline the need for a more diversified and interdisciplinary investigation of the topic to fully capture the transformative potential of green fintech.