Analysis of the role of financial intermediaries in the process of formation of innovative infrastructure of the digital financial services market of Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of theoretical, methodological and applied aspects of the role of financial intermediaries in the formation of innovative infrastructure of the digital financial services market in Ukraine. The relevance of the study is growing significantly in the context of global digitalization, full-scale war, and the need to build a sustainable financial system in the post-conflict period. The purpose of the study is to comprehensively analyze the functions, mechanisms of influence, and barriers that limit the participation of financial intermediaries in the development of innovative infrastructure. To achieve this goal, the authors have analyzed and systematized modern scientific approaches to the study of financial intermediation in the context of digitalization, open banking, and regulatory sandboxes. The key scientific and practical result of the article is the development of the author's own classification of financial intermediaries according to six criteria: institutional nature (banks, non-bank institutions), level of digitalization (traditional, hybrid, digital), functional purpose (credit, investment, payment), technological basis (API, AI, blockchain), regulatory integration (licensed, DeFi) and geographical coverage (local, global). On this basis, six mechanisms of intermediaries' influence on digital financial services are identified: institutional, technological, platform, regulatory and innovation, educational and communication, and investment and financial. Based on the analysis of the Ukrainian market (monobank activity, NBU Fintech Sandbox, integration with Diia) and comparison with international experience (USA, UK, Singapore, EU), a set of recommendations has been developed. In particular, the authors emphasize the need to: facilitate the transition to digital models by simplifying licensing; develop open banking based on APIs; create a single national API platform; expand the NBU's Fintech Sandbox; launch public-private venture capital funds; and improve cybersecurity and digital literacy.