FinTech and financial inclusion: Evidence from a decade of global research and emerging trends

Abstract

Financial technology (FinTech) has emerged as a key driver of financial inclusion, transforming access to payments, credit, savings, and insurance for households, small businesses, and underserved populations worldwide. This study synthesizes a decade of Scopus-indexed bibliometric and systematic-review research on FinTech and financial inclusion published between 2015 and 2025. Rather than conducting a new bibliometric extraction, it provides a comparative synthesis of major peer-reviewed review studies, consolidating evidence on publication trends, intellectual structure, geographic distribution, and emerging research themes. The findings reveal rapid growth in scholarly output since 2016, led by China, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Dominant themes include digital payments, mobile money, regulatory technology, artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, financial literacy, SME finance, and sustainability-oriented digital finance. The review identifies persistent gaps in low-income regions and limited integration of AI and ESG perspectives. It offers a consolidated evidence base and proposes directions for future research, policy formulation, and practice.