Scientific research perspectives on the relationship between FinTech and education

Abstract

The overall perspective of the last decades on the economy and society evolution brings to the fore the undoubted influence of the technological progress on the two interconnected key spheres. Digital transformation ensured the transition to new models in almost all fields of activity, being recognized over the years as a real competitive advantage. Moreover, the characteristic circumstances of the modern world lay the groundwork for new directions that support the digitalization, aiming to enhance the quality and performance of processes mediated by specific providers, as well as to satisfy the needs and requirements of final consumers. The financial spectrum, including its all-related activities, was naturally subjected to the digitalization process, thus ensuring the transition from traditional financial services to financial technology. Gaining an increased interest from companies, financial technology, well-known nowadays as FinTech, has certainly gone beyond the limitation to the banking services. In the current context, with a narrow but significant view, FinTech can be defined as the cluster of digital financial services carried out without the intermediaries' intervention. Even though the implementation of FinTech has become an objective for many entities, the process itself can be influenced by various factors. Among the conditions preceding the overall digital transition facilitation, education has often been identified. Under these considerations, the existence of a causal relationship or, at least, of a direct connection between the adoption of financial technology and education can be called into question. Providing a better understanding of the addressed subject requires, as a preliminary step, the analysis of the two considered concepts, namely FinTech and education, from the perspective of existing scientific research. Thus, the purpose of the current research was to identify some notable aspects regarding the potential relationship, at conceptual level, between financial technology and education. Achieving the predefined goal involved performing a bibliometric analysis, based on the scientific publications indexed in the Web of Science database. The obtained results reveal both the growing interest on the research topic, but also the existence of a direct or indirect cause-effect association between FinTech and education.