Abstract
The financial system is currently being transformed by digitization and sustainability. However, existing research on the topic of sustainable digital finance, which bridges both areas, is still rare and a more comprehensive understanding of the domain is a missing component in existing research. Therefore, this paper develops a taxonomy based on a comprehensive literature analysis to structure this emerging field more precisely. The taxonomy includes a strategic, an organizational, a systems and a sustainability benefits perspective. The application of the taxonomy to 126 startups reveals that their solutions primarily focus on applications in the energy, financial services and government sector and their major focus is only on five of the seventeen SDGs, which shows a clear preference for climate, energy, infrastructure, cities, and partnerships as the primary goals. Surprisingly, the startups focus merely on operational efficiency optimization like improved processes rather than disruptive innovations in product or customer-related areas.