Digital-Only Banks: A Bibliometric Analysis of an Emerging Fin Tech Domain (1997–2025)

Neo-banks or the digital-only banks – became a disruptor in the banking industry. The present research gives a comprehensive bibliometric overview of the literature on digital-only banking from 1997 to 2025, presenting trends in publications, citation impact, and leading thematic themes. Utilizing a database of approximately 900+ articles from leading databases, we utilize Bibliometrix (Biblioshiny) and VOSviewer in mapping intellectual structure of the research area. The findings reflect exponential growth in scholarly publications over the last decade along with higher citation rates. Co-occurrence network analysis delineates specific areas of research effort, such as Fin-Tech adoption and technology take-up, digital security and trust, digital banking transformation, customer satisfaction and experience, and regulation and compliance issues. We observe that major research works concerning internet banking adoption and trust continue to be cited, while newer ones on mobile banking and fin-tech adoption are picking up momentum at a rapid pace. The discussion emphasizes how such themes are connected, with trust and security as the foundation for customer adoption and satisfaction, and how digital transformation programs are revolutionizing banking strategies under changing regulations. We also establish emerging research gaps – namely in sustainable digital banking, integration of AI, and digital trust building – presenting directions for future research. Our research illuminates digital-only bank research development, offering scholars and practitioners a glimpse of knowledge direction and areas that need to be researched.