The Impact of FinTech on Environmental Sustainability: Empirical Evidence Based on a Novel FinTech Index

Abstract

This study seeks to offer fresh evidence on the relationship between FinTech development and environmental sustainability. Traditional approaches that measure welfare solely through economic indicators often overlook environmental costs, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive evaluation framework. Accordingly, this work examines the outcome of FinTech on environmental degradation using a panel dataset covering 20 countries from 2012 to 2022. Two distinct environmental indicators—CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint—are employed to ensure a robust assessment. Additionally, income level, total energy consumption and renewable energy usage are incorporated into the model as control variables. The analysis is based on the method of moments quantile regression, while the robustness of the outcomes is verified through the Driscoll–Kraay estimator. Causal relationships are further explored using the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test. The research's original contribution lies in the construction of an innovative FinTech index focused on payment services, enabling a nuanced analysis of FinTech's multidimensional structure within an environmental context. The study shows that FinTech has the capacity to improve environmental performance, emphasizing a potential alignment between digital finance and ecological protection. Furthermore, the results indicate that income level and total energy consumption exacerbate environmental pressure, whereas the use of renewable energy contributes to its mitigation. These outcomes provide crucial insights for decision‐makers interested in advancing environmentally sustainable financial policies.