Emerging technologies in finance: challenges for a sustainable finance

Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and fintech, have profoundly reshaped the financial sector driving unprecedented innovation and creating transformative opportunities for development. However, they also pose significant challenges to long-term sustainability. While the existing literature provides valuable insights into their influence, a broader scope is necessary to reflect their role in advancing sustainable finance. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 2,446 publications from the Web of Science (1996–2024) to map the evolving nexus between emerging technologies and finance. Our findings reveal an expanding research landscape, with key themes including the application of emerging technologies in solving financial problems, the integration of technologies with behavioural and regulatory frameworks, financial innovation for promoting development, risk management and financial stability, digital currencies and blockchain, digital transformation challenges, and sustainable finance. The analysis highlights the dual nature of emerging technologies: while they enhance financial efficiency, transparency, and inclusion, and offer significant opportunities to advance sustainable finance, they also introduce risks such as cybersecurity threats, algorithmic bias, regulatory challenges, and critical barriers to long-term sustainability. To address these challenges, we propose a research agenda prioritizing ethical governance, stress-testing AI models under economic crises, securing decentralized systems, mitigating greenwashing risks, and fostering globally aligned regulatory standards. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to tackle ethical, security, and inclusivity concerns. It is imperative for policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions to align technological innovation with sustainability objectives to ensure that advancements contribute to the development of an equitable, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystem.