Financial technology research: Past and future trajectories

Abstract

Financial technology (fintech) research is a critical, dynamic and rapidly developing field, making it essential to systematically review and prospect the fintech field to advance its development. Using a combination of data-driven techniques from main path analysis and bibliographic coupling analysis, this study maps and analyses the growth laws, main research trajectories, and intellectual communities of the fintech domain in current research. The results show that the fintech field has gone through three phases, namely, ‘emergence’ (1977–2008), ‘fermentation’ (2009–2017), and ‘take off’ (2018–2022). The bibliographic coupling analysis suggests that the whole fintech research domain can be classified into four research streams: online banking and payment technology, lending and capital-raising online platforms, automated and algorithmic trading, and blockchains and cryptocurrencies. After conducting a retrospective analysis of prior studies and scanning over future-oriented challenges and demands, this study speculates and proposes four important topics that require urgent attention, namely efficient applications of blockchain technology in the financial sector, new business patterns of banking and other industries under fintech integration, the impact of fintech on financial inclusion, and the risk control and supervision of fintech.